
Glass_iJ^lA^_ 
Book ^^ 



M C 86 ] 

L 

FROM THB 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

XHANSMITTINa 9UNDRT PAPBRS HBLATIlfG TO 

Transactions in East and West Florida, 

Receiredat the Department of State since his Message of 28th January, last, 

WITH COPIES OF 

TWO LETTERS FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, 

UPOX THE SAME SUBJECT. 



APRIL 19, 1822. 
Printed by order of the Senate of the United States. 



WASHINGTON: 

PRISTXD BT GALES & SEATO:^. 
1822. 



r. 3/5 

. U572 




It' 



[86] 



I communicate to the Senate copies of sundry papers having ivla^ 
tion to transactions in East and West Florida, which have been re- 
ceived at the Department of State since my Message to tlie two 
Houses of Congress, of the 28th of January last, together with co- 
pies of two letters from the Secretary of State, upon the same sub- 

'c ject. 
C JAMES MONROE. 

^ fVnsMn^ton, nth Jprih ISS'^^ 



[86] 



Mr. Worthingtou to the Secretary of State^ 15th January, 1822, 
(Extract.) 

Enclosures. 

No. 12. Col. Forbes to Mr. "Worthington, 8th January, 1822. 
13. Mr. Law to the same, - - 14th 



[86] 



Extract of a letter from Mr, Worthingion to the Sjecretary of State, 

dated 

Executive Department, E. Florida, 

St. Augustine, Jammrt/ \5thf 1822. 

** The enclosed certificates, Nos. 12 and 13, will close all the pa- 
pers which I have thought it necessary to send on, respecting the ar- 
chives. 

** If the government will direct me what to do with the papers, de- 
termined to be returned to the ex-governor and escribano, I will 
make the disposition accordingly." 



No. 12. 
Colonel Forbes to Mr. Worthingion. 

St. Augustine, January) 8, 1 822. 

Sir: After the archives and documents had been investigated uu- 
der your excellency's commission of the 1st of October, and the 
papers separated, I communicated your orders to the escribano, Mr. 
Entralgo, to deliver him those taken from his office, which, it was 
deemed, the United States did not claim under tlic ti-eaty; also, I 
made a similar offer to Mr. Arredondo, the general attorney of the 
ex-governor, Colonel Coppinger, he being absent, to deliver those 
taken from him, which it was thought proper not to retain; they both 
declined taking them; so they remain safe, but subject to future or- 
ders. I made the offer in writing, as one of the commissioners and 
as marshal of the United States for the Floridas, agreeably to your 
written directions. 

I am, &c. &c. 

JAMES G. FORBES, 
His Exc'y W. G. D. Worthington, 

Secretary and acting Governar of East Florida. 



[86 ] 6 

No. 13. 
Mr. Law to Mr. Worthington. 

St. Augustine, January 14, 1822. 

Sir: Of the arcliives and documents taken into the American pos- 
session under your commission of the first of October, from the 
Spanish escribano, Mr. Entralgo, part of five boxes are retained as 
belonging to the United States under a fair construction of the treaty; 
and the remainder of the five boxes determined by the commissioners 
to be returned to Mr. Entralgo. From the Spanish ex governor. 
Colonel Coppinger, part of six boxes are retained under the above 
construction, and the icmainderof the six boxes determined as above 
to be returned to Colonel Coppinger. Both Colonel Coppinger and 
Mr. Entralgo, I learn, decline taking those offered to be returned; I 
would, therefore, advise some final disposition to be made of them, 
cither by yourself or the general government, as they may be subject 
to casualties while in our possession. To those papers retained, 
Americans, Spaniards, and all persons interested, have daily access. 
Those determined to be returned, remain nailed up, and no one suf- 
fered to handle or inspect them. 

Yours, respectfully, 

EDMUND LAW, Mcalde. 

W. G. D. WORTHIISGTON, 

Secretary f and acting Governor of East Florida. 



Capt. Bell to the Secretary of State. 

AVashington City, January 5th, 1822. 

Sir: 1 had the honor to command the detachment of the United 
States' troops, on the 10th of July, 1821, the day on which an ex- 
change of flags took place at St. Augustine, the capital of East Flo- 
rida, under the late treaty with Spain. On the day following, I was, 
by commission from General Jackson, Governor of the Floridas, 
vested witli all the powers of the late Spanish Governor Coppinger, 
which commission I received through the hands of the Ameiican 
commissioner. Colonel Butler, with other documents and instruc- 
tions from my government in the discharge of <he duties of Provision- 
al Secretary of the province, until the arrival of Mr. Worthington, 
who had been duly appointed by the President of the United States. 
Colonel Butler, the commissioner, shortly after set out for Pensaco- 
la. Among the docinnents left by him for my government and in- 
formation, were extracts of the ollicial coi-respondence between the 
two commissioners on the subject of the archives and documents re- 
lating to individual propeity, and the inhabitants of the province; 
hy which it was agreed, that they were not to be removed from St. 



7 C 86 ] 

Augustine, but to remain precisely as they were until the doubts 
arising on rhe part of the Spanish commissioner should, by refer 
ence to the Spanisli authorities on his part, and to the American ai-" 
thont.es at >\ ash.ngton, on the part of the American commissioner 
be settled. No inventory of the archives, documents, and papers* 
^ere ever made to my knowledge; none was delivered to me by Co? 
Jiutler. After his departure, a number of the inhabitants waited nn 
me, to know the situation in which the archives and dolmen ts^^^^^ 
lativeto property and rights in the province had been left by the 
Amencan commissoner, and if he had obtained possession of them? 
On being informed that they were said to be in the possession of tL 
Escribano, a Spanish notary and officer, until the doubts arisinVas 
to he delivery of them should be settled by the respect ve Spanish 
and Ainerican authorities, they appeared greatly dissatisfied ex 
pressed themselves in a manner, and in terms, which ed me t^ be 
l.eve hey had no confidence in the Spanish officers, and finding no 
inventory had been made of the archiVes, declared, from thJrk,fow? 
iedge of the manner in which these documents were filed thrro wL 
no security that the whole of the documents woud e e. b de iver 
ed; that important papers might be sent to the Havanna, if not al 
ready sent; that others might be placed on the files; h" fact, that the 
door was open to almost every species of fraud in the office by whch 
individual rights would be violated, and the public lands wm.Mi 
granted away without the possibility of deteS They stiiLly 

^:^ed;^^^^^^ 

ill the offices of the fJlr ^ documents a„d papers found 

was a vess alm^^t 'eajv to sliTfL m''''hS"' """ E^crihano; there 

which are usually kept in thi. offlL ^Tl?""'^^ ^"^^^ *^'««^ P^P^rs 



C 86 ] 8 

in which they were left, anil were paying great fees to the officer to 
obtain evidences of their papers being in the office. I must turlher 
state, that the notary Don Juan de Entralg-* had declined to take 
the oath of allegiance to our government; that. Governor Coppmger 
was respectfully applied to by me to deliver up the papers peacea- 
bly, before any resort was had to force, and when the papers were 
put'into the hands of certain persons appointed to examine them, 
with directions to separate private papers from documents relating 
to the province, Governor Coppinger was given to understand, that 
he, or any agent on his behalf, might attend the examination. As 
far as the examination has proceeded, many papers have been sepa- 
rated from the public documents, put into boxes, and reported to 
Mr. Worthington, for the purpose of being returned. By the citi- 
zens having property, and residing within the province, the conduct 
of the American officers in taking the papers, was generally approv- 
ed of. , , 
Most respectfully, I am, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

JOHN R. BELL. 

Honorable John Quinct Adams, 

Secretary of State^ 



« [ 88 ] 

Genei-al Jackson to the Secretary of State, 22d January, 1822. 
C Enclosures. J 

C. Same to Captain Bell - . . 1st September, 1821. 

D. Same to Mr. Worthington, . . ISth August, tlo. 

E. Governor Coppincjer to Col. Butler, 23d June, do. 
E. Colonel Butler to Governor Coppinger, 26th June, do. 

Same to same .... 3d July, do. 

Governor Coppinger's answer . . 4tli July, do. 

Colonel Butler's reply, . . . 5th July, do. 

Same to Captain Bell, . . . 11th July, do. 

EE. Same to General Jackson, . . 21st January, 1822. 

No. 3. Mr. Wortliington to Gen. Jackson 9th November, 1821. 

No. 4. Mr. Reynolds to same . . Without date. 
No. 5. Gov. Worthington to Messrs. Bell, 

Forbes, & Law, . . . 7th November, 1821. 

General Jackson to Secretary of State, 31st January, 1822. Extract. 

f Enclosures. J 

Secretary Walton to General Jackson, 7tb January, 1822; 

Saaie to Colonel Clinch, . . . 21st do. do. 

Same to Captain Wilson, ... 2d do. do. 
Pivrole of honor to Villiers and Guillemard. 
Memorial of Villiers and Guillemard. 
Order <if arrest continued. 

No. 2. Certificate of Henry Wilson, . 6th January, 182^ 



General Jackson to the Secretarij of State. 

NASHViiiLE, January 22, 1822. 

Sir: Your letter of the 1st instant reached me a few days since, iu 
which you advise me of the receipt of mine of the 22d November, with 
its enclosures. I had also the honor to receive a copy of your covn- 
mujiiration, dated 2d November, to the minister of Spain, together 
with the translations of two letters from said minister, addressed to 
the Secretary of State, and transmitted to me by direction of the Pre- 
sident of the United States. You intorm me that the definitive an- 
swer to these letters will be deferred until you shall have the opj.or- 
tunity of obtaining my reply, with any remarks I may be disposed 
to make, on the communications of the minister of bpain. 

I sincerely regret that Don Joaquin de Anduaga's letter of the 22d 
November, had not been transmitted at an earlier period, as it will be 
necessary, in my reply, to refer you to two communications of (apt. 
Beil,of the 31st'july and 4th August last, and to Mr. Wortl.ingtou'a 
letters on the subject of the arcliives at St. Augustine^ the first 
o 



[ 86 ] 10 

of whicli are on file in tJie Executive office at Pensacola, and the 
last I forwarded to yon when 1 was iiiformod by Dr. Bronaiigh that 
my resi.a;nation was accepted, on the 1st ultimo, not expecting to have 
any further use for theni. Immediately on the receipt of your letter, 
however, I wrote Mr. Wortliington, requesting him to forward 
yon certified copies of his communications as promptly as practicable, 
and have adopted the same measure in relation to those of Captain 
Bell, although I had been advised that he had transmitted duplicates 
to you frojn St. Augustine. To these documents I must refer you, 
relying upon my answers thereto, and my own recollection, for their 
contents, and accompanying my reply with such vouchers as are with- 
in my reach, believing there will be ample testimony in your posses- 
sion to enable you to rebut the statements of this minister of the Spa- 
nish government. 

Upon the subject of seizing the papers at St. Augustine, you ob- 
serve that the Spanish minister dwells with much earnestness' on the 
agreement which had been made between Colonel Butler and the late 
Governor Coppinger concerning these papers, and requests to be in- 
formed whether this agreement was known to me at the time the order 
was issued for demanding and receiving them; and, if so, to state the 
particular grounds on which I judged it neccssai-y to resort to com- 
pulsory measures for obtaining possession of them. 

In answer to this inquiry, I have the honoj- respectfully to state, 
that Colonel Butler, the commissioner appointed to receive the trans- 
fer of East Florida from the Spanish government, reached me on the 
8th of August last, at Pensacola. and made his report. As soon as it 
was submitted to my examination I was entirely satisfied that neither 
Coppinger on the ojie hand, nor Butler on the other, had any authori- 
ty, either under tijc treaty or their instructions, to enter into such an 
agreement relative to the archives, which were, by a positive stipu- 
lation between the two governments, to have been delivered over, with 
the country, to tlje constituted authorities of the United States. The 
treaty was imperative, and vested the parties with no discretion on 
the subject. Believing, however, that the course adf)pted by Colonel 
Butler was perhaps the only one that could have been pursued, with- 
out the employment of torce, to preserve the documents; and notwith- 
standing I was perfectly satisfied that Coppinger had, on his part, 
violated both the treaty and tije order of the Captain General of Cu- 
ba, yet I felt disposed to leave tlie archives precisely in the same situ- 
ation in which Colonel Butler had placed tliem, under his agreement 
with Coppinger. I was induced to take this course from a wish to 
create no unnecessary dilHculties, and from a hope tiiat the Spanish 
officers would comply with their arrangement, and permit the papers 
to remain unmolested until the arrival of the President's instructions 
in regard to their final disposition. 

This minister states that the commissioners, Butler and Coppin- 
ger, stipulated that the artillery and archives were to remain, the first 
in deposite, in possession of the Anglo American commissary, and the 
last where they were, and without the possibility of their being taken 



11 186] 

away to the Havanna. He does not say what was their situation, 
but it will be recollected that the alcalde was tlicir keeper. Nor does 
he tell you that Don Jose Coppinfter permitted them to be picked, 
and culled, and taken away, in violation of i»is solemn pledge and 
aj^reement, as you will see by a reference bein.aj had to Capt. Btll's 
letters to me of the 3 1st July and 4th Aus^ust, 1821, duplicates of 
which I am advised are in your i)ossession. 

When 1 received these letters from Capt. Bell, who exercised pro- 
visionally the powers and authorities of Secretary of East Florida, 
before the arrival of Mr. Wortliington, I acknowledi^-e tliat my ind'g- 
nation was very mucli aroused. I felt that it was my imperative du- 
ty to protect the people of Florida in t!ie enjoyment of the right se- 
cured to them expressly under the treaty. I was bound to act on tiie 
occasion. The agreement respecting the archives, althougli void ah 
initio, for the want of power, had been outrageously violated by Cop- 
pinger. or with liis connivance; and the evidence of individual rights, 
secured to the citizens, were about to be fraudulently conveyed away, 
after he had pledged himself to Colonel Butler that they should not 
be removed ft-om that place, and should remain precisely as they 
were. . 

The verbal repoi't of Colonel Butler, as communicated m my letter 
of the 4th August last, affords a clue to the motives of Colonel Cop- 
pinger, in attempting to piactice this base deception. For the last^ix 
months previous to the ti-ansfer of the c )untry, it is believed he had 
been engaged in issuing surreptitious grants, for large quantities of 
land inEast Florida. It became necessary, that they should be ta- 
ken to the island of Cuba, for the purpose of consummating the titles. 
These were, no doubt, tlie documents wiiich were picke<l and culled 
from the balance, to be transported to the Havanna; as Coi)pinger 
was convinced, tliat the fraud would be inevitably detected, if they 
should be surrendered to the American authorities. This explains 
the reason why, and wherefore, they were not delivered over to our 
commissioner in the first instance; and forms the basis ot the conh- 
dential communication made to Colonel Butler on the 3d ol July last, 
advising him that a large portion of these archives, relating to pri- 
vate property, were packed up for removal to Cuba; and which gave 
rise to his letter to Colonel Coppinger of that date, as will appear by 
the enclosed extract, marked E. , , n • 

Speaking of the correspondence between Cols. Butler and Coppinger, 
Don Joaquin de Anduaga remarks, that - by the before mentioned 
correspondence, it appears, that doubts had arisen whether the artil- 
lery, and certain archives ought, or ought not, to be delivered over 
to the United States." With due deference, 1 would ask, could any 
doubts exist, as to the archives, under the second article ol the treaty? 
So. Could any doubts be entertained relative to the archives em- 
braced in tlie instructions of his Catholic Majesty, or the instructions 
jjiven by the captain general of Cuba, to Don Jose Coppinger, colo- 
nel, and commanding the Spa.iish forces at St. Augustine, and who 
was charged with the delivery of the country, and all documents re-- 



[S6] 12 

latiiig to the property and sovercii^iity of the country ccdet]? It is 
piivMnned not. In his letter to Col. Forbes of tlie I6tli May, 1821, 
the captain general of Cuba says, *M'Cspccting East Florida, vvhei'c 
then* ought to be found all hei- archives. Governor Mahy would di- 
rect tliat Governor, as entrusted by hini with the important coninus- 
sion, to make a formal delivery to Mr, Forbes, of that province, as 
well as )f the documents belonging to it." "A similar despatclj would 
be adilressed to the commandant of West Florida." Here is a posi- 
tive declaration, that such instructions were, or should be given, to 
Governor Coppingcr, tor the delivery of all the archives included in 
the stipulations of the treaty. Conti-ast this statement of the cap- 
tain general of Cuba with the answer of Governor Coppinger to 
Colo lel Butler*s letter to him, dated July 3d, 1821. "Confinii'g my- 
self," he says, "to a compliance with the treaty, and the orders of 
my government," (which he informed colonel Butlei", verbally, pie- 
vented him from delive»-ing the archives) 'Mheir literal sense is the 
only guide to my endeavour in the execution, and when any doubts 
arise, 1 consult them, with that frankness necessary to ascertain my 
course, and warrant my responsibility." 

Fi'om this exposition, no one can fail to discover a striking contra- 
diction between the captain general M ihy an I Goveiiior Co|)pinger; 
the former assuring Colonel Forbes, that he would dii-ect Governor 
Coppinger to deliver over the documents to the American authori- 
ties, aid tlie latt.T asserting, that, "as an individual, he believed, 
they should be given over." See EE. But, that the orders of his 
g!t\ernment prevented him from performing that duty. We can find 
no .'xciise, either for the captain genei-al, governor Coppinger, op 
Colonel Calla\ a, for not complying with the ordei-s of their supeiiors, 
a'ld with good faith carrying into effect the 2d ai'ticle of the treaty, 
b\ delivering, and being prepai'ed to deliver over, all the archives 
and documents appertaining to the propei-ty and sovereignty of the 
Floridas. Instead of this, the. captain general does not deliver them 
at Cuba; Copi)inger, contrary to his oiders, was preparing to con- 
vey them away, in a clandestine manner, in violation of his agree- 
ment and solemn pledges, until arrested in his faithless conduct, by 
Colonel Butlcrj and Callava, whilst professing to surrender all the 
archives, &c. was wickedly and treacherously attempting to carry 
away the testamentary papers of the heirs of Vidal. and other docu- 
ments, which were the evidences of claims to private property, in the 
country ceded to tlie United States. 

The unjustifiable delays and evasions of the officers of Sj)ain, in 
withholding the archives and documents, of which the delivery had 
been expressly stipulated by treaty — vouchers indispensable to the 
United States, fm- the dispensation of private justice, and the esta- 
blishment of private right, but entirely useless to Spain — could not 
but impress upon n»e the belief, that they were intended to subserve 
the purposes of injustice, fraud, and oppression. The attempt to 
carry away a nuuiber of tliose documents from St. Augustine and 
Pensacela, in aclandetjliue manner, was considered as a flagrant vio- 



13 r 86 3 

iation of the treaty; and I besjan to entertain the opinion, that a sys- 
tciiirttic coinhinatifHi had bet-n fcu'med amongst the ollicers of Hpain 
to deprive tlie honest citizens of the country of all the evidences of 
their right to properly, secured to tliem by the provisions of tiie ces- 
sion* 

Under these impressions, and believing myself vested with legal 
autliority to protect the i-ights of the citizens, I was urged, by the 
most imperative duty, to exercise it in their behalf. Upon the re- 
ceipt of Captain Bell's letters, before refei red to, advising me that 
the archives at St. Augustine were pirked and culled to be conxeyed 
away, 1 forthwith wrote him, on the 1st September, i82l, the letter 
heiewith enclosed, marked C, of which the following is an extract: 

*' I have this monient received your several letters of the 31st July 
and 4th August, with their enclosures, and regret that the shortness 
of time will not permit me to answer in detail. On tlie subject of the 
archives 1 will barely draw your attention to the second article of the 
treaty with Spairt, according to which all archives or documents di- 
rectly relating to the j)r op erty or sovereignty of the country, are to be 
delivered by her. You will, therefore, forthwith, on the receipt of 
this, if not already in possession of them, take them into your pos- 
session, and place them in the bauds of the alcalde for safe keeping; 
and who ought to be, like every other, a sworn officer under the 
govtrnment, and not a Spanish officer, owing no allegiance to the 
United States. All papers and documents in the possession of the 
cabildo, and, in course, in the possession of Ameiican, and not Span- 
ish functionaries, are to be retained, and none of them permitted to 
be culled and taken away." '♦! am gratified with the friendly expres- 
sions of the cabildo of St. Augustine, but am sorry to find they have . 
so entirely mistaken the sense of the proclamation. ISothing could 
be more absui-d than that Spanish officers, as such, should administer 
the government. I he true meaning is, that, whenexer the incum- 
bent will take the oath to suppoitthe constitution of the United States, 
and abjure that of Spain, and take the oaths of office, he shall be con- 
tinued therein; that part of the proclamation which enjoins fidelity 
to the government of the United States would, otherwise, be non- 
sense, and the government has, at all times, the power to remove or 
dismiss him, and supply his place. But this will not be dotie, unless 
it be found that he is incompetent to his trust, or unfaithful; and, 
whenever either is the case, this power, for the benefit of the people, 
ought to be exercised." 

Having previously addressed Captain Bell a letter, on the 13th of 
August, 1821, a copy ot which is enclosed, maiked D, and forwarded 
it to him by Mi*. Bird, attorney for the United States in East Florida, 
I was gratified to find from his answer, that, before the receipt of 
eitlier of my communications, himself and Mr. Worthington had 
taken the steps necessary to preserve the archives, and extend to the 
people of East Florida that protection which was secured and gua- 
rantied to them under the treaty. 



[ 86 ] 14 

When it is rccoiN'ctcil that the archives and documents relatine^ to 
the property and sovereii^nty of the Fhiridas, were to be transf'ei i«'d 
witli the coinitry, agreeably to the stipulations of the tieaty, and that 
Gov. Coppinger had been ordered to deliver those in East Florida, 
Avhat indignation must fill every honest ajid hornirabic breast, when 
we learn, from the letter of the keeper of these pa|)ers at St. Augus- 
tine, that he claims them as piivate pi-operty, which he had acquired 
by purchase. From whom could this |)urchase have been made? 
From the king? No, because he had stipulated ti» surrender them 
with the country, to the American authorities. If bought at all, it 
must have been effected with the executi\e magistrate of the province. 
In either event, it must have originated in tlie gmssest corruption, 
and was rendered null and void by the treaty between Spain and the 
United States. 

Although Don Joaquin de Anduaga has taken occasion to lieap up- 
on me the most illiberal and indecoious epithets, he is challenged to 
substantiate a single instance, in which myself, or those acting undei* 
me, have not scrupulously executed evei-y article of the treaty with 
Spain. 

It appears that the minister of Spain considers his sovereign as 
having been insulted in the person of his Commissary, Col. Coppin- 
ger, at the time the seizure of the papers was effected; he insists that 
Col. Coppinger was entitled to all the privileges and immunities of 
a public otlicei' of Spain, in consequence of his being recognized as 
such, in doing and trajisacting business with Capt. Bell. The fact 
was, that Capt. Bell was not vested v, ith any diplomatic, or commis- 
sarial powers, and any sucii recognition on his part, was as ineffectu- 
al as it was without authority. 

By turning to the act of cession, executed by Col. Butler, and Jose 
Coppinger, it will be distinctly seen, that neither of those persons 
retained any powers as commissioners, alter the date of that instru- 
ment. If this was the case, it must be equally evident, that neither 
Capt. Bell, nor Mr. Worthington could have ptjssessed such powers, 
at the period to which the Sj)anish minister has alluded. Col. Jose 
Coppinger being the commander in chief, and Governor ex officio 
over East Florida, he was chai-ged, under* tlie treaty, with the delivery 
of the country, and the withdrawal of the Spanish troops. The mo- 
ment these duties were performed, both his and Col. Butler's powers 
as commissioners ceased. This event took place on the 10th July, 
1821, when the Spanish authorities ceased the exercise of their func- 
tions, as is demonstrated by the following extract from the act of 
cession. 

" There has been verified, at four o'clock of the evening of this 
day, the complete and personal delivery of the fortifications, and all 
else of this aforesaid province, to the Commissioners, Officers, and 
troops of the United States, and, in consequence thereof, having em- 
barked for the Havana the military and civil officers, and Spanish 
troops, in the American transports provided for this purpose, the 



15 [86]- 

Spanish aiithorities hnvivg this moment ceased the exercise of their funC' 
tions, and tliose appointed by the American Government having be- 
gan theirs, &c." 

The surrender of the provinces had been completed, and the occa- 
sion which created commissioners ceased to exist. The authority 
^(1 troops of Spain were withdrawn, and the United States in en- 
tire and rightful possession of the country. The six months had also 
transpired within which the tieaty provided the transfer of 
sovereignty should be made, as well as the evacuation of all the 
Spanish officers within the Floridas. Colonel Coppinger remaining 
after the occurrence of these events, could no longer be considered as 
entitled to the privileges and immunities of a public agent. He could 
only be viewed as a stranger, permitted to reside in the Floridas, 
" amenable to the common judicial tribunals, but who, conformably to 
the Spanish laws, existing before the cession of the province, would 
have been liable to removal from it, or to imprisonment, at the dis- 
cretion of the Governoi', for the mere act of being tliere." 

These disclosiires, I hope, will exempt me from the criminal charge 
which Don Joaquin de Auduaga has preferred against me, of having 
trampled upon the law of nations, and the law of every civilized 
country. If the detection of treachery, and prevention of fraud, the 
security of the rights of the citize)!, and a scrupulous adherence to 
the articles of tlie treaty, which both governments were saci-edly 
bound to fulfil, are to be considered atrocities, I have to observe, 
that I glory in the charge, and give this furtlier assurance, that it is 
the course which I shall always pursue. I would inquire of this 
minister, whether the law of nations protects the agents of Spain in 
the open violation of t!ie tieaty, the rights of individuals, and the or- 
ders of their government? Does this law sanction the non-compli- 
ance with the most solemn engagements, by which the rights of in- 
dividuals were to be sacrificed, by depriving them of those evidences 
of property stipulated to be delivered over with the country ceded? 
If so, then is every treaty a perfect mockery, and the law of nations 
becomes the antliority for every species of fraud and corruption. Cop- 
pinger and Callava might not only have carried away all the archives 
of tlie country, but also the negroes, or moveable property, and their 
agency would have secui-ed them from merited punishment. 

To the remark of the Spanish minister, ♦* that the more my con- 
duct is considered, the more evident it is, that my sole object has 
been to insult Spain," I have to observe in reply, that it is unjust; 
I challenge Don .loaquin de Anduaga to establish the fact necessary 
to authorize such a conclusion. If I kviovv myself, I can declare, 
with the utmost confidence, that I have never entertained any thing 
like national antipathies, and that my conduct on no occasion has 
over been influenced by such base and unmanly considerations- 
All the measures of my administration, whilst Governor of the Flori- 
das, were founded upon the principles of justice; the object of which 
was to secure to the United States, and the people who weie citizens 
of the ceded provinces, those rights which were guarantied to them 



[86] 



16 



under the ceHsion, and which the offirfrs of Spain had wantonly vio- 
lated, in contravention of tlie treaty, the j)ositive orders of their superi- 
ors, and their own solemn pledi^es and eiit^agements. Tiie virtuous and 
Lonoral)le Spaniard claims the same siiare of my respect and confi- 
dence as the citizens belongiiij^ to any other nation. 1 rejoice ifi the 
res^eneration i\( Old Spain, ainl in the independence of the AmeriHIn 
colonies, and h(>pe that both may fice themselves from that misrule 
and oppression with which they have been cursed, for centuries past, 
under former governments. 

The language used throughout the letters of the minister of Spain, 
and the charges therein contained in relation to myself, cannot hot 
be viewed as an insult to my government, to the American people, and 
to the officer whom he has endeavored to cover with odium and dis- 
grace. It is derogatory to that comity and decoium which should 
always characterize diplomatic communications, and which are es- 
sential to the harmony and friendly intercourse of nations. In re- 
ply, I confidently trust, that the President of the United States will 
take such a stand, as shall secure the respect due from foreign minis- 
ters to his exalted station, to the officers of the government, and to 
the nation over which he presides. 

It is a subject of remark, that I have been the object of Spanish 
calumny and virulent animadversion, ever since the transactions of 
the Seminole war. This spirit of hostility is to be discovered in the 
observation of governor Mahy to Col. Forbes; in the letter of the 
latter to the Secretary of State, of the 20th Ma), 1821; in the pio- 
tests of Cols. Coppinger and Calava; and has pervaded all ti»e di- 
plomatic communications of Spanish ministers, subsequent to the 
period to which I have alluded. Although such a course is insulting to 
myself, to the executive, and to the American people, I have never 
deemed it of sufficient importance to induce me to complain. 

Feeling a confidence in having alwjiys discharged my duty, whilst 
in the service of my Cduntry, I disregarded the abuse and vitupe- 
ration of Spanish agents, from a belief that my government would 
vindicate its honor and dignity. This, I flatter myself, will yet be 
accomplished in due time. A considerable portion of my life has 
been devoted to the happiness, honor, and glory of my country, and 
when my conduct has met the appiobation of the government, I have 
a right to expect that it will resist any attempt to slander my repu- 
tation. Notwithstanding I solicit the most free and unrestrained in- 
vestigation into all the nieasui*es of my ])ublic life, by those to whom 
I am responsible, it is conceived that the same latitude should not be 
granted to the ministers of foreign powers. Such an interferenee is 
rude and indecorous, and should be resented on all proper occasions. 
This, it is believed, is not due to me alone, but to the President and 
the nation. 

I am, sir, with sentiments of great respect, 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
Hon. John Quincy Adams, 
Secretary of i>tate. 



17 . [ 86 ] 

General Jackson to Captain Bell, 

Pensacola, September Ist, 1821. 

Sir: I have this moment received your several letters of the 31st 
July, and 4th August, with their enclosures, and regret that the 
shortness of time will not permit me to answer in detail. On the 
suhject of the archives, I will harely draw your attention to the 2d 
article of the treaty with Spain, according to which, ail archives 
and documents directly relating to the property, or sovereignty of tiie 
country, are to be delivered hy her. You will thei*efore, forthwitli, 
on the receipt of this, if not already in possession of them, take them 
into your possession, and place them in the hands of the alcalde for 
safe-keeping, and who ought to be, like every other, a swoi-n oilicer 
under the government, and not a Spanish oflicer, owing no allegiance 
to the United States. All papers and documents in the jjossession of 
the Cabildo, and of course in the possession of Amei'ican and not 
Spanish functionaries, are to be retained, and none of them pcimitted 
to be culled-and taken away. 

I am gratified with the friendly expressions of the Cabildo of St. 
Augustine, but am sorry to find they iiave so entirely mistaken the 
sense of the proclamation. Nothing could be more absurd tlian that 
Spanish oiiiiers, as such, should administer the government. The 
true meaning is, that whenever the incumbent will take the oath to 
support the constitution of the United States, and abjure that of 
Spain, and take the oaths of oihce, he shall continue therein. The 
partT)! the proclamation which enjoijis fidelity to the government of 
the United States would otherwise be nonsense, and the Go\ernor 
has, at all times, the power to remove, or dismiss him, and supply 
his place. But this will not be done, unless it be found that he is 
incompetent to his trust, or nnfaithful, and whenever cither is the 
case, this power, for the benefit oftlie public, ouglit to be exercised. 

I have read Mr. Fitchc's report to you, and have discovered that 
he has viewed the constitution of Sj)ain as in full force in the Flori- 
das. This is not the fact. On tlie 4tli May, 1814, it was annulled, 
and every act and decree passed in pursuance of it, declared illegal 
and void. It was never re-established until 1820, after the Floridas 
had been ceded to the United States. Of course, Sj)ain could not le- 
gislate for a country not her own. The first act, after the re-estab- 
lishment of the Cortes, was, to recommend the ratification of the 
treaty of cession, and no decrees of the Coi'tes were ever promulgat- 
ed in the Floridas, until after the ratification of the treaty. It would 
be strange indeed if Spain could legislate for a country whose so- 
vereignty and property had passed out of her hands. The act of 
Congress for the occupation of the Floridas, and my proclamation, 
will, I think, clearly shew, that the Spanish constitution was not 
taken into view. They are j)reciscly similar to those which preced- 
3 



C 86 3 



18 



ed the occupation of Louisiana. Besides, the constitution merely 
provides for a form of government, of which the judiciary is a part, 
and a part which cannot he separated without being imperfect; and 
even this judiciary was never established in the Floridas by decree 
of the Cortes, not to speak of its entire incompatibility with the na- 
ture of our constitution and government. The mere circumstance of 
uniting in the same person the difterent ottices of Captain General, 
Intendant, and Provincial Governor, and leaving it to the President 
to prescribe the manner in which the powers of the existing olHcers 
shall he excicised, shews that there was no intention to pursue the 
Spanish plan of government. 

The ordinances heretofore sent you are intended to distribute 
and organize a government, approximating as nearly as practicable 
to that of Spain, and formed out of the poweis with whicli the Span- 
ish officers were clothed. It must be borne in mind, that although 
Spanish laws and usages are in force, excepting so fai* as they may 
be expressly altered, yet the Spanish government has ceased. 

Mr. Fitche's ideas, as to the powers of the Judge appointed by the 
President, so far as relates to the carrying into effect the acts ex- 
tended over the Floridas, are correct, but the Judge can exercise no 
other powers, unless specially given him by the instructions of the 
President. Such instructions have not been given, and 1 doubt very 
much whether tlie President could legally give them. There is no 
doubt, that the person exercising the powers of the Governor of East 
Florida, can exercise all the powers exercised under Ihe King of 
Spain, at the time the country was ceded. The Governors of the 
Floridas oxercisid judicial )>ovvers as late as the 10th July, 1820. 
This was up to the ie-estah!ishmeiit of the Cortes, and the ratifica* 
tion of the treaty; and to the ycvy delivery of the country, admiral- 
ty jurisdiction. 

On the subject of the archives, I have again to repeat, that you 
will take them into your charge. Governor Coppinger's powers hav- 
ing ceased with the delivery of the country, he cannot be considered, 
as respects the United States, any more than any other individual. 
He is not lecognized in any official capacity; he has, theieibre, no 
right to demand any papers in the possession of the United States* 
officers, or to hold any official cori'es|)ondence on any subject aris- 
ing since the delivery, by which act his official character, as to us, 
ceased; and even the subjects of difference, which arose before the 
delivery, were referred to the respective governments. 

Captain Willis is now here, on his way to St. Augustine, but, fear- 
ful of not being able to reach that place befoie the second Monday 
in tjiis present month, he has therefore halted, to hear from you, 
whethei' the clerk's office for the county of St. John's is kept open 
for him. If it is, he will repair there, as soon as advised of it, at 
this place, and you will please to address him to the care of Cary 
Nicholas, postmaster, Pcnsacola. 

On the subject of Indian Agent, I have this day addressed a letter 
to the Secretary of War on that subject, enclosing Mr, Penniers' let- 
ter to him, and Mr. Dexter's. 



19 [86] 

Should you know where Mr. Pcnnicrs' is, please to inform him, 
that I have been waiting for him to report to me in ])erson, and that 
I have a letter from the Treasury Department for him. 
I am, with sentiments of respect, 

Your most obedient servant, 

ANDREW JACKSON, 

Governor of the Floridas, Sfc, 

Captain John R. Bell, or to such officer as may be exercising the 
government of East Florida. 



D. 

Governor Jackson to Win. G. D. fforthington^ or Captain J. R» BelL 
exercising the powers of the Governor of East Florida, 

Pensacola, Aug. 13, 1821. j 

Sir: On the 28th ultimo, I despatched an express, Capt. Hanham, 
to you, with sundry oidinances that I found it necessary to adopt for 
the better organization of the Floridas. The ordinances are only a 
declaration of what the Spanish-law really is, and what its operations 
under the Cortes would have been — The constitution of Spain^ pro- 
viding for the trial by jury in criminal cases, although never extend- 
ed to the colonies, because the treaty ceding the Floridas was con- 
cluded before tlie constitution was adopted and carried into execution 
in Spain. 

When I took possession here, I found nothing but an Alcalde, 
which was filled by a Spanish military officer, who could not there- 
fore hold it under our Government. I appointed an Alcalde, Judge 
Brackenridge, in whose custody all archives received were placed. 
Finding that a Cabildo had once existed here, I ordained the re-estab- 
lishment of it, in that of a Mayor and Aldermen of the city, adding 
a board of health to it; and there being no judge, I created a county 
court, with the powers that this court would have held under the con* 
stitution of Spain, and that of the United Slates. 

Col. Butler reached me on the 8th instant, and reports that he 
foUnd at St. Augustine an Alcalde, a Cabildo, and a Judge, all in 
operation. This will afford you great relief in carrying into effect 
the ordinances sent you by Cajit. Hanliam. In every instance where 
the incumbents in otHce will take the necessary oaths of office, and 
are, in your opinion, of good moral character, and fit for the office, 
you will continue them. 1 have found but few here of the Spanish 
inhabitants, that would accept an office under our Government, not 
having determined of themselves whether thty will become citizens 
of the United States, and believing that taking an oath of office 



[86] 



20 



would be considered tlieir election to become citizens, have in most -^ 
instances refused. 

It is necessary on tlic cliaup^c of Government, tliat all officers who 
are to execute it under the United States, shuuld take the necessary 
oaths of office, and when this is refused, you will fill the vacancies 
thus occasioned, by new appointments; even when the old incumbents 
will remain, and espcrially in the latter case; foi- as S])anish officers 
they cannot execute the i^overnment under the United States. 

This will be handed you by Mr. Bird, who hasthe appointment, by 
the President of the United States, as attorney for East Florida. 
1 am, with great respect. 
Your most obedient servant, 

ANDREW JACKSON. 



E. 

Extract of a letter from Governor Coppinger to Colonel R. Butler, un- 
tier (late June 23, 1821. 

"I answer your esteemed note of yesterday, assuring your excel- 
lency, as I mentioned in my letter of the 19th, that, until I received 
the answer of my govei-nment, on the doubts arising on the delivery 
of tlie public archives, relating to the individual property of the in- 
habitants of this province, and on which I have, on this date, wrote 
for information, 'ihey shall not be removed from this place, and shall 
remain precisely as they are.'* 

*' I shall likewise remain here until this point is decided, as well 
as that on the artillery, on which I have made my report; and, in 
the mean time, have formed an exact inventory of the documents con- 
tained in these archives." 



Extract from Colonel Butler*s letter to Jose Coppinger, Governor, ^c. 
dated June 26, 1821. 

"The subject of the archives relating to individual property, I 
consider perfectly understood between us, and will, therefore, remain 
silent on that head, until you receive the further instructions of yo.up 
government in relation thereto.'* 

Extract from Colonel Butler's letter to Governor Coppinger, dated 
July 3, 1821. which was predicated upon information received con- 
fdentially, that a large portion of the archives, relating to private 
prjperty, were packed up for removal to Cuba. 

"That a more perfect understanding si ould exist between us, in 
relation to the archives, which are embraced by the trtaty of cession. 



21 [86] 

and relating to individual property, is the object of this coinmuni- 
catioH." 

•' I should, upon mature reflection, consider myself wantinaj inmy 
duty to the inliabitants of this province, who arc about to become 
citizens of my government, if I withbeld any statement in relation 
to the archives, which might lead to the removal of any document, 
that would be of importance to their security, and which my govern- 
ment considers as included in the treaty. The following records are 
deemed indispensable to this object, viz: the royal or otber orders, 
authorizing the governor of this province to issue grants for lands, 
lots, or squares; the evidence of indemnity offered by Great Bri- 
tain to her subjects, who might leave their property in this province 
and retire to lier territory, after the cession to Spain; the procla- 
mation of the Spanish authorities, calling on those individuals to 
come and dispose of their propei-ty, or peaceably occupy it within 
certain periods, or the same would be confiscated; and tlie order of 
confiscation thei-eaftet'; the original records of all grants made in the 
province, either by iiis Catholic majesty, the captain general of Cu- 
ba, or the governors of this province respectively; the original re- 
cords, relating to all ti-ials and decisions, embracuig individual pro- 
perty; and the original records relating to the execution of wills 
and administration of estates. 

*'The foregoing explanation is given to shew you, what I am bound 
to consider as the archives relating to individual property, and vvliicU 
are not to be removed from this place, until the decision is had on 
the subject by our respective governments." 

The answer hij Governor Cojjpinger. 

*' The note your excellency was pleased to send me yesterday, in 
order to point out which are the records compreliended in the treaty 
of cession, and appertaining to private property, I have duly examin- 
ed, and have to answer, that, confining myself to a compliance with 
the treaty, and the orders of my government, [which, he informed 
colonel Butler verbally, prevented him from delivering the archives] 
the literal sense is the only guide to my endeavour in the execution, 
and when any donbts aiise, I consult tiiem with that frankness, ne- 
cessary to ascertain my course, and warrant my responsibility. 

"Thus actuated, I early informed your excellency of the measures 
which I had taken, with respect to tlic public archives, or Escribano 
office, or recoi'ds bearing on private property of the inhabitants of 
this province, measures to which your excellency was pleased to ac- 
cede." 

"It now appears, that your excellency advances pretensions to 
other documents, that, I am soi-ry to say, ai'c, according to my con- 
ception, excluded from the delivejy. 1 do not coinj>reivcn(l the ground 
upon which you found your demand; therefore, and ia order to rc- 
l)ort to ray govei-nment by the earliest opportunity, tiiat it may de- 
ride with your's on these points, and. at tliesamj^ timp,on tjjose others 



Cse] 



22 



in question, your excellency will excuse my not entering into parti- 
cular observations on each of them." 

Extract of Colonel Butler^s answer, dated July 5, 1821. 

" In answer to the note of yesterday, which your excellency has 
done me the honor to address to me, I beg leave to remark, that the 
only ground assumed on my part, in making the communication of 
the 3d instant, was that of the faithful performance of my duiy to my 
government, and the individuals who are about to become citizens 
thereof; and I did not expect you to enter into particular observa- 
tions, on the subject of that letter, but I wished to give you tiinely 
information of what documents I considered to be the archives in our 
arrangement, and would be esteemed, under the treaty, sufficient to 
guarantee the possession of the inhabitants in their property, and 
that they might not be removed until the decision was had on the 
subject, when I could adopt such further amicable measures as are 
warranted by my instructions." 

*' If I comprehend your excellency aright, it is, that you will com- 
municate a copy of that letter to the captain general of Cuba." 

Extract of Colonel Butler^s letter to Captain J. R. Bell, dated St. JiU' 
gustine, July 11, 1821. 

** The foregoing extracts are given you as the evidence of the actu- 
al situation of the archives, relating to private property, and the de- 
cision of the government of the United States must determine the 
necessary steps to be taken thereon." 

"The balance of the above letter relates to subjects unconnected 
with the archives." 

ROBERT BUTLER. 



E.E. 

Colonel Butler to General Jackson. 

Hermitage, January 21, 1822. 

Sir: On reading the correspondence between Colonel Forbes and 
the Captain General of Cuba, I find a promise, on the part of the lat- 
ter, that the Governor of East Florida would be ordered to deliver 
over the archives to the American authorities; and this duty not hav- 
ing been performed, I consider it proper to advise you, that, in the 
month of June last. Colonel Coppinger, late Governor of East Flo- 
rida, stated to mc, in a conference had on the subject of the delivery 
of the archives relating to individual property, that, as an individual, 
tie believed they should be given over to the United States, but that 



23 L »*> J 

his orders prevented him from turning them over. I mentioned to 
him tliat I had heard a report, as a reason for not turning them over, 
that it would be the interest of the United States to destioy them, 
and remarked that 1 regarded not the source from whence it came, as 
it could alone spring from the most wicked and unprincipled heart. 
As there appears an absence of good faith in the execution of the late 
treaty, I give you this information for the benefit of the government. 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully. 

Your most obedient servant, 

ROBERT BUTLER, 
Late U. S. com. in East Florida-. 



No. 3. 
Mr. Worlhington to General Jackson. 

St. Augustine, JVoveniber 9, 1821. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your highly 
esteemed favor of the 1st ultimo; its delay may be accounted for IVoni 
tills remark on the envelope, " missent to and forwarded from >Yash- 
ington City, October 24th, 1821," 

Your approbation of my humble but honest exertions to anticipate 
and fulfil your intentions in the organization of this government, I 
receive with sentiments of no ordinary sensibility; I assure you I had 
difficulties to contend with, which, had they have assailed me from 
a legitimate quarter, I should not have valued them " a pin's point," 
but coming from a point of the horizon where I looked for only in- 
vigorating and cheering sunshine, it was peculiarly calculated to di- 
minish and enervate my powers and official weight. I saw the whole 
ill policy with regret, but not dismay. I was determined the Spaniards 
should not see and triumph in thcspectacle of the Americans quarrel- 
ling amongst themselves; under the blessing of Heaven, 1 felt I could 
w eather the storm, and I was conscious of your support. Your let- 
ter before me has shewn I was not mistaken. 

The affair of the Government House is handsomely settled, as you 
will see by my correspondence, predicated on your opinion, with 
Col. Eustis, marked Mos. 1. 2. To shew you that I was uniform in 
my sentiments respecting the harmony which ought to exist between 
the civil and military authorities, your high encomium of which I am 
prottd, I enclose you two letters marked Nos. 3. 4. I would indeed 
give a mass of private evidences of this matter; but I take my leave 
of it, I hope forever, and sincerely pray your pardon for being so 
troublesome on such an affair. 

I thank you for your advice on my probable intercourse with tlie 
Indians; I shall be governed by it literally. I intend, if practicable, 
to prepare a splendid talk for them; but they shall understand two 
things at least, very distinctly: The non-natives imist return amongst 



th^^Crceks, and the natives, if they stay in Florida, must be concentra- 

I sincerely hope, sir, that the visit of yourself and family to Ten 

se , I w.ll endeavour to merit the additional proof of confidence 
Mhich vou have reposed in me durin.^ your tern, or ry aSce 

A^e can, Out tit yellow fever has sadly cut us up; even now, it raL-es- 
God knows Avhen .t will stop; the first black fro^t, they say, is acer' 
ta.u bar to .t; that may not come till January, if then Yesterda; 
a tmy room .n the shade, the thermometer stood at 72: th is as 

ine> ate matkul Ao. 5. Any further course which vou, or the e-o- 
vcrnmentat Washington, may direct concerning? th4"i w I adm^t 
and ,n the .nterim, if any thing shall suggest itse'lf to me Is nece^sa: 
ry to he done in the pren.iscs, I will pro|ress in it. 

Ihc Kx-governor Coppinger, like his compeer Callava, I see, bv 
a Charleston paper, publishes the proceedings as an " outra-^e '^ 
No body who knows the Si.aniards, as the Pi^esident, you.^K^^ 
s^'^fZlf 7' -""^trymen, will pay much attenfion to 'the e 
so. ., o. appciJ But, uiilortunately for persons in public stations 
who get into disputes with them, too many of our IHIow-ritizens 
take su es with them because they know nothing about them Jf it 
should be thought best, it is probable some of u,?, w ho ha been a 

As to myself, I intended to do what; was right and proper, and 
hope my proceedings may meet your approliltion. My^ fortune 
amongst the Spaniards, on both sides of the e.p.ator, has been to in' 
cur then- d.s .ke and hostility; yet, I trust, not of tie good! ibera 

"ot ye.;t " ed ' '" "''"' "'^- ''''^' ^" ^'-^^ ^'^ M.' Hackley 
With great respect, kc. 

W. G. D. WORTIIINGTON, 

h;^ -Fvpoii A '^''^''^^"'^ "^''(l acting Governor of East Florida. 

Ills Jixcellency Andrkw Jacksov, 

Governor of East a7id West Florida. 



No. 4. 
Mr. Reynolds to General Jackson. 

St. Augustine, IQth Xov. 1821. 
Ihe other documents referred to by governor Worthington cannot 
he lorwarded by this mail, as much of%ur time must be necessarily 



25 [ 86 ] 

devoted to the sick, the dying, and the dead. His Excellency resid- 
in.i^ in the Island, about a mile and a half distant, prevents me fi-om 
giving him this information previous to tlie departure of the mail. 
But being desirous tiiat nothing which is in readiness, should be de- 
layed, I send you his letter to the commissioners. No. 5, upon their 
having closed the examination of archives and documents, &c. as 
far as was practicable under the circumstances. 

Very respectfully your obedient serv't. 

WILLIAM REYNOLDS, 

Private Secretary. 
His Excellency Andrew Jackson, 
Governor of the Floridas. 



No. 5. 

Governor Worthington to John R. BelU James G. Forbes, and Ed- 
mund Law. 

St. Augustine, JVov. 7, 1821. 

Gentlemen: I had the honor to receive your additional report on 
yesterday evening of the 5th inst. on the subject of the records and 
archives. 

I felicitate you on the conclusion of the difficult and laborious du- 
ties, which it was deemed necessary to assign to you, which you so 
cheerfully undertook, and so faithfully have discharged. I have been 
an eye witness to the open and assiduous manner in which you con- 
ducted the investigation, and have no doubt, when the voluminous 
mass which you have transmitted, shall be criticised, it will prove to 
be an honest and able examination. 

Without detracting from the other commissioners, I must be per- 
mitted to pay a particular compliment to the President, nho, duiing 
the whole tedious inquiry, while the epidemic raged in tliis city, with 
the most assiduous punctuality, presided at the board. 1 know the 
various duties of Col. Forbes, and the sickness of Mr. Law, pre- 
vented them giving such full attendance, as they otherwise would 
have done. I am peifectly satisfied with them and the whole board. 
You will be pleased to present my respects to the Secretaries, Messrs. 
Betham, Guy, Lynch, and Reynolds, for the faithful discharge of 
their duties. 

And now, gentlemen, I must be permitted to say, notwithstanding 
the clamor which has been raised on a similar proceeding, respect- 
ing the archives at Pensacola, and even against the affair heie, you 
have conducted and finished this commission in a masmer to chal- 
lenge the approbation of every disinterested and honest American 
4 



^ 



C 86 ] 26 

in our country, and, I hope, even of every unprejudiced Spaniard 
who possesses one spark of true Castilian honor and sincerity. ' 

With great respect, &c. 
W. G. D. WORTHINGTON, 

Sec. and acting Gov. of E. Florida. 
John R. Beli, James G. Forbes, 
and Edmund Law, Esqs. 



Extract of a letter from General Andrew Jackson to the Secretary of 

State. "^ 

Hermitage, near Nashviile, January Slst, 1822. 

"Enclosed, I send you an extract of a letter from Col. Georee 
AValton, Secretary of West Florida, and charged with exercising the 
powers of governor of the same, in my absence, with its enclosure. 
Having received from the President of the United States his letter 
bearing date the 3 1st December last, post-marked at the city of 
Washington, the 9th instant, notifying me that my resignation was 
accepted, forecloses me from giving to Col. Walton any instructions 
otticially, and have thought proper to refer him to the President for 
directions, as to the proper course to be pursued with regard to those 
Spanish officers. Col. Coulon is father-in-law to John Innerarity 
Guillemard is a very base and treacherous man, being the same who* 
piloted the British up Bayou Bien venue, in the year 1815, then an 
officer of Spain, when the attempt was made upon New Orleans bv 
General Packenham. ^ 

"I also enclose herewith, marked No. 2, for the information of the 
President of the United States, the certificate of Mr. Henry Wilson 
a man of respectability, that goes to shew the fraudulent practices 
committed by the officers of Spain, with regard to land titles in the 
Floridas, and forcibly adds to the propriety of adopting the rule I 
have heretofore recommended, of appointing none to the office of 
commissioners for the adjudication of land titles in Florida, but 
those of honesty, integrity, and entirely disinterested. Should this 
rule not be adopted, great frauds will be imposed upon the United 
States." 



Extract of a letter from Col. George Walton, Secretary of West Flo- 
rida, and exercising the duties of Governor of the same, dated Janu- 
ary 7, 1822, to General Jackson. 

"A few days ago, two of the Spanish officers. Colonel Marcos de 
Vilhers, generally called Colonel Coulon, and Arnaldo Guillemard, 
arrived here in a vessel from Havana. It was lirst intimated to me. 



27 [ 86 ] 

that they had resigned their commissions in tl»e Spanish service; but 
wiien arrested by my order, and brought before me, they declared 
they had come with the intention of asking permission to attend in 
person to the settlement of their private affairs, and the removal of 
their families. They solemnly declared, that they had not returned 
in defiance of the proclamation, which they had promptly obeyed, and 
that they are ready to submit themselves to any order which should 
be taken in their case. For the present, I ordered them into confine- 
ment; but the calaboze being in no condition to receive them, for, ex- 
cepting the officer's room, it has no fire-place; and as Coulon is a 
very old man, and his wife, at this time extremely ill, 1 thought it best 
to confine them in their own houses. The situation of old Coulon 
was such, that it would have been cruel to confine him in the dungeon 
with the common malefactors; and I could not, with propriety, make 
a distinction with respect to Guillemard. They then presented the 
enclosed memorial, in which they throw themselves on the mercy of 
the government. 

"After these concessions, and the humble manner in which they sue 
to be permitted to remain, I was well convinced that you would have 
granted them the indulgence they prayed for. But, under my in- 
structions, although a state of things was presented by the returning 
sense of propriety on the part of these people, different from what is 
contemplated in these instructions, yet, 1 did not consider myself au- 
thorized to go any farther than to continue them in the same con- 
finement until further orders. I was well convinced that, while on 
the one hand you were determined to cause the government provi- 
sionally established over these provinces to be respected by every 
one living under it; and, as far as you were concerned, to cause the 
stipulations of the treaty to be enforced; yet, I also knew, from the 
magnanimity of your disposition, that you would instantly relent on 
the first manifestation of respect to the government, and submission 
to its determinations. This course, however, was not adopted by me 
until after consultation with Colonels Fenwick and Clinch, Major 
Denkins, and Judge Brackenridge, who all concurred in the opinion, 
that this was, under all circimistances, the most proper. 

"The sixty days in the case of Innerarity having expired, apjjlica- 
tion was made for execution; as nothing had been offered by him in 
the mean time, on any claims put in by creditors. He had got the 
papers on his receipt, as had been customary, and when called upon, 
found he was disposed to try his old tricks; on which 1 had a no- 
tice served upon him, to shew cause at eleven o'clock this day why 
an attachment should not issue. I had determined to commit him in- 
stantly, if the papers were not then produced; and to keep him in 
prison until they should be forthcoming. He took the hint, and left 
them with Mr. Cannon last night. A long memorial by Mr. Acre 
was presented, praying a review of the whole proceedings; but I 
shall pay no attention to it, and will now proceed forthwith to com- 
pel the payment of the money. 



[86] 



28 



"I learn from St. Augustine, that tlie splendid talk alluded tn in 
my last, Lasentu-eiy faikxl, f.-om the unaccountable ndn'uLcir" 
cumstance, of there being no Indians to listen to it, as no Sended 
on the occasion, although a considerable concourse of whites S 
had assembled on the beautiful plains of Atlath.i^a «o Vli • 
tiently several days for their arrival " ^^^^^^^na, waited impa. 



Colonel Walton to Colonel Clinch. 

Pensacola, Jrmimry 21, 1822. 

iJ]^'' ' ^''^ *"* ''^'^"''^ *'i^* y^" '^''^ ^"-ect that such portion of the 
^troops unde.- your command as may be necessary, shall be furnished 
to carry ,nto effect the proclamation issued by^Ge^al jXot^?.; 
September ast requiring the departure of certain Spanish officers 
from the Flondas, two of the officers named in that Zc an lat.on 
having returned to this city without permission. ^ oclamation 

I hftve the honor to be. 

Your obedient servant, 

GEORGE WALTON, 

r. , T^ r ^ ^^^'"''-^ ^^' ^^^''^"^^^^ ^nd acting Governor of same. 

Col D. L. CxiNCH, '^ 

Commanding the post Fensacola. 

To Captain Wilson, the officer of the day. 

You are hereby commanded forthwith to apprehend and brine be. 
fore me, at the Executive Chambers, Marcos de Villiers and Anfaldo 
Gu.llemard. that they may be dealt with according to law for he 
contempt and disobedience of a certain proclamatio^n iss, ed by s 
Excellency General Andrew Jackson, on the >29th day of Septe'^ber 
1821 requning the said Marcos de Villiers and Arnaldo GuSlemard 
to withdraw themselves from the Floridas. ^uiiiemaiU 

^nffl/".?"" ""^ ^T? ^""^ P'"'^^*^ «^^^* t''^*'^ »>eing no seal of 
office, this second day of January, in the year 1822, at Pensa- 
cola, in the province of West Florida. 

GEORGE WALTON, 

^^c'ry W. Florida, and acting Governor of same. 
J3y the acting Governor, 

Samuel Fry, Private Sec'ry. 



29 C 86 ] 

Executive Chambers, 

> PensacolUf Januarij 2, 1822. 

Marcos de Villiers and Arnaldo Guillemard, having this day heen 
brought before George Walton, Esquire, Secretary of West Florida, 
and acting Governor of the same, by virtue of his warrant, that they 
might be dealt with according to law for the contempt and disobe- 
dience of a certain proclamation issued by his Excellency Major Gene- 
ral Andrew Jackson, on the 29th day of September, 1821, requiring 
the said Marcos de Villiers and Arnaldo Guillemard to withdraw 
themselves from the Floridas, and having been required to shew 
cause why they should not be committed to prison for the said con- 
tempt, were heard by counsel, and his excellency the acting gover- 
nor not being fully advised as to the matter offered by them in ex- 
cuse of their return to this province, granted further time to the said 
Marcos de Villiers and Arnaldo Guillemard, until to-morrow at ten 
o'clock in tiie forenoon, to shew further cause, &c.; and, in the mean 
time, they were ordered to consider themselves under arrest, and con- 
fined to their own houses by parole of honor. 



To his Excellency George Walton, Governor of the Floridas, ^-c. c5-g. 

The memorial of Marcos de Villiers and Arnaldo Guillemard respect- 
fully represents: 

That your memorialists, with other Spanish officers, were, by the 
proclamation of his Excellency Andrew Jackson, Governor of the 
Floridas, issued on the 29th of September last, ordered to quit the 
Floridas within three days thei-eafter, for reasons therein assigned. 
That your memorialists, in obedience to the said proclamation, with- 
drew from the said provinces, and repaired to the island of Cuba; 
and that, after being there some time, they found themselves compell- 
ed, from the situation of their private affairs, and the illness of a part 
of their families, to return to this country. That, in so doing, nothing 
was further from their intention than any disrepect to the constituted 
authorities of this province, whose determinations they declare them- 
selves ready to observe and obey so long as they remain in the same. 
But they beg leave respectfully to represent, that, at the same time, 
they are Spanish officers, they and their families have also been inha- 
bitants of this country for many years; and that they are owners of 
real and personal property here to a considerable amount. That, by 
the fifth article of the treaty, the inhabitants of the ceded provinces 
■who may desire to remove to the Spanish dominions, shall be permit- 
ted to sell or export their effects at any time whatever, without being 
subject, in either case, to duties. That your memorialists are desi- 
rous to remove with their families to the Spanish dominions, and that, 
unless permitted to remain here, and superintend in person these ne- 
cessary arrangements, they will be exposed to serious loss and injury. 



[86] 



30 



Your memorialists thci-efore pray, that, taking the circumstances 
into consideration, and esj)ecially their solemn declaration that they 
return, not as Spanish officers, but as private individuals, on private 
business, and with every disposition to obey and respect the existing 
authorities, they may be permitted to remain for the purpose of set- 
tling their affairs, and making the necessary arrangements for the 
femoval of their families. 

MARCOS DE VILLIERS, 
ARNALDO GUILLEMARD. 
January 3, 1 822. 



Executive Chambers, 

Peiisacola^ January 5, 1822. 
I have maturely considered the memorial of Marcos de Villiers 
and Arnaldo Guillemard. Although well satisfied, from the known 
magnanimity of General Jackson, that, if he were present, the peti- 
tion would be granted; yet,from the circumstance in which I am placed, 
I consider myself compelled to continue the present arrest and con- 
finement till further orders. 

GEORGE WALTON, 
Sec'ry W. Florida^ and acting Governor of same. 
A true copy from the records, 

Samuei Fry, Private Secretary. 



No. 2. H. Wilson's Certijicate. 

Pensacola, Jan. 6, 1822. 
I do hereby certify, that, some time last spring, I made a purchase 
of Henry Milchelet of this place, of a tract of eight hundred arpents 
of laud on the Escambia, according to the plat of survey, accompany- 
ing the grant; and on a view of which plat, the grant was confirmed 
by the Intendant General of Havana. About two months ago, hav- 
ing taken an American surveyor to examine the lines, it was found 
that the Spanish survey was a mere fiction, it being absolutely im- 
possible, from the nature of the ground, and the course of the river, 
to obtain a tract of eight bundled arpents, in any way agreeing with 
the description in the plat. When this was made known to Mr. 
Milchelet, and he was convinced of the fraud, he proposed to me to 
make a survey of any vacant lands I should choose; that he could 
have the plat of this land withdrawn from the title papers, and send 
the new survey to Havana, and have it certified by the Surveyor Ge- 
neral, and inserted in the place of the first. This proposal I rejected 
with indignation, as dishonorable to me as an individual, and a fraud 
»pon my Government. 

HENRY WILSON. 



31 [ 86 ] 

The Secretary of State to Mr. Walton, 

Department of State, 

Washington^ 22(Z Fehrnary, 1822. 

Sir: The President of the United States having received and ac- 
cepted the resignation of General Jackson,, as Governor of the Flori- 
das, I am instructed to inform you of his direction that you should 
continue to exercise all the authorities vested in you by General Jack- 
son, during his absence from the province, until further provision 
for the government of the same shall be made by Congress, or until 
you shall receive further orders from the President. 

I have received from GeneialJacksoii a letter enclosing an extract 
of yours to him, of the 7th of January last, relating to the case of the 
two Spanish officers, Marcos de Villiers and Arnaid Guillemard, 
under arrest at their houses, for returning to Pensacola in disobedi- 
ence to the proclamation of General Jackson. 

As it appears by their memorial that they returned for the settle- 
ment of their private affairs, and the cai-e of their families, and that 
they pledged themselves to pay due respect to the laws and the con- 
stituted authorities of the territory, the President directs me to in- 
struct you to discharge tiiem from arrest, and permit them to remain 
there. 

I have the honor to be, witii great respect, sir. 

Your very humble and obedient servant, 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

George Walton, Esq. 

(bee. ^ acting Gov. West Florida. 



The Secretary of State to Don Joaquin d'dnduaga. 

Department of State, 

Washington, 5th Jipril, 1822. 

Sir: In the letters which I had the honor of writing you, on the 
2d of November, and 31st of December last, you were informed that 
a definitive answer to the complaints against certain proceedings of 
General Andrew Jackson, while governor of Florida, which were 
co-.itaJned in a letter to this Department from Don Hilario de Rivas 
y Salmon, before your arrival in this country, and in your letters of 
the 18th and 22d of November, would be given after* the substance 
of those complaints sh(Kjld have been made known to General Jack- 
son, and his explanations of the motives and considerations by 
which he had been governed in adopting the measures complained of, 
should have been received. 

lii performing this promise I am commanded by the President of 
the United States lo repj-at the assurance of his deep regret, that the 
transactions, which formed the subject of those complaints, should 



[86] 



32 



ever have occuiTed, and his full conviction, upon a review of all the 
circumstances which have attended them, that they are attributable 
entirely to the conduct of the Governor and Captain General of Cu- 
ba, and of the subordinate officers of Spain, in evadin.e; and refusing 
the fulfilment of the most expi-css and positive stipulations of the trea- 
ty, both of evacuating* the province within six months from the ex- 
change of the ratifications of the treaty, and of delivering the ar- 
chives and documents relating directly to tlic property and sove- 
reignty of the ])rovinces. 

At the time of tiie exchange of the ratifications of the treaty, your 
predecessor, GcTieral Vives, delivered an order from His Catholic 
Majesty to the Captain General and Governor of the Island of Cu- 
ba, and of the Flnridas, informing him of the cession to the United 
States of that part of the provinces of which he was the governor, 
that was situated on this continent, and instructing him as follows: 

*' I command you, and ordain, that, after the information which 
** shall be seasonably given you by my Minister Plenipotentiary and 
«* Envoy Extraordinary at Washington, of the ratifications having 
*' been exchanged, you proceed on yom* part, to make the proper dis- 
*« positions, in order that, at the end of six months, counting from the 
** date of the exchange of the ratiiii ations, or sooner if possible, the 
" Spanish officers and troops may evacuate the territories of both 
** Floridas, and that possession of them be given to the officers or 
" commissioners of the United States, duly authorized to receive them. 
" You shall arrange, in proper time, the delivery of the islands adja- 
«* cent and dependent upon the two Floridas, and the public lots and 
"squares, vacant lands, public edifices, fortifications, barracks, and 
** other buildings, whicii are not private property^ as also the ar- 
•' chives and documents which relate directly to the property and 
** sovereignty of the same two provinces, by placing them at the dis- 
*' posal of the commissaries or officers of the United States, duly 
<* authorized to receive them.'* 

This order, thus clear and explicit, was despatched, together with 
letters from general Vives, to tlic governor of Cuba and the Floridas, 
notifying him of the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty, by 
Col. James G. Forbes, who was commissioned, '♦ as agent and com- 
missary of the United States, to deliver to him the Uoyal order, to 
arrange and concert with him, conformably to instructions commit- 
ted therewith, the execution of the above stijjulations, and to receive 
from the said governor and from any and every pei-son possessed of 
the said archives and documents, all and every one of the same, and 
to dispose thereof in the manner piescribed by his instructions." Col. 
Forbes' authority, thus, was to receive the documents and archives, 
and to concert and arrange with the governor of the Floridas. the deli- 
very of those provinces, which GeneralJackson was commissioned to 
receive, take possession of, and occupy, and of which he was further 
commissioned to be the governor, when surrendered to the United 
States. 



33 C 86 ] 

T\w I'oyal order was delivered by Colonel Forbes to the Governor 
of the. Floridas, at the Ilavanna, on the 23d of April, 1821. There 
lias been shown by that Governor no cause or reason wliich could 
justly have re(juired iiini to delay the delivcsy of the documents and 
archives, and the ai-ranj^ements tbi* the delivei*y of the provinces, be- 
}o))d the term of a single week. There were iiventij boxes of those 
arciiives and documents; the whole, oi' with very few exceptions, the 
whole, of which ought, by the positive stipulation of the treaty, and 
by the i-xpress order of the King of Spain, to have been immediate- 
ly delivered to Colonel b'orbes. Not one of them was delivered to 
liim; nor has one of them been delivered to this day. 

The oi-dei's for the surrender of the provinces were delayed from 
day to day, notwithstanding the urgent and contijiual solicitations of 
Colonel Forbes, for the term of six weeks, at the ej)d of which, to 
avoid further indefinite procrastination, he was compelled to depart 
without receiving the archives and documents, but, with repeated 
I)romises of the Governor, that they should be ti*ansmitted to this 
government — promises which have i'cmained to this day unper- 
foi-mcd. 

The orders for the delivery of the provinces themselves, were not 
only thus unreasonably withheld, but when made out, though not 
furnislied to Colonel Forhes till the last week in May, were made to 
bear date on the fiftli of that month: nor were they j)repared conform- 
ably to the stipulation of the tj'eaty, or to the royal order of his Ca- 
tholic Majesty; for, instead of directing the surrender to be made to 
tiic commissioners or ollicers of the United States, duly aui/iorizied 
to receive them, tiie instruction to the commanders in East and West 
Florida was to deliver those respective pi-ovinces to Colonel Forbes 
luinself, who had from tiie United States no authoi'ity to receive 
them. And although expressly advised of this fact by Col. Forbes, 
with the re<piest that ihe orders of delivery might be amended, and 
made conf )rmable to the treaty, and to the royal command, Gover- 
nor Mahy did not so amend it, but reduced Colonel Forbes to the 
altei-native of subniitting to further delays, or of departing with an 
imperfect and ambiguous order of delivery of \¥est Florida, autho- 
rizing its surrender to the legally constituted authorities of the Unit- 
ted States, (that is^ as Governor Mahy well knew, to General An- 
drew Jackson) only, in case of any accident happening to Col. Forbes, 
whom he still affected to consider, notwithstanding his own express 
declaration to the contrary, as the commissioned agent of the United 
States to that effect. 

The twenty boxes of documents and archives, which were at the 
Havanna, as has been mentioned, had been transmitted thither from 
Pensacola; and contained all the most important lecords of property 
in West Florida. The possession of them was in the highest degree 
important to the United States, not only as the vouchers of indivi- 
dual property, but as protecting guards against the imposture of 
IVaiidulcnt granti*. 



[ 86 ] 34 

The same pei'seveiint; system ot \vithlioIding documents which it 
"was their duty to deliver, has niai-ked, I am deeply concerned to 
say, theconduct of hoth the commanders of East and West Fh)rida, 
who were charged, respectively, to deliver those provinces to ilie 
United States. It is to this cause, and to this alone, as appeaivs from 
a review of all the transactions of which you have complained, th;it 
must he traced the origin of all those severe measures which General 
Jackson himself was the first, while deeming them indispensable to 
the discharge of his own ollicial duties, to lament. Charged as he 
was with the trust of receiving the provinces in behalf of the United 
States, of maintaining their rights of pi-operty within them, of 
guarding them to the utmost of his power from those frauds to which 
tiiere was too much reason to apprehend tliey would be liable, and 
to which the retention of the documents gave so great and dangerous 
scope; entrusted, from the necessity of the case, during the inteival 
of time, while the general laws of the United States remained un- 
extended to the provinces, with the various powers which had, until 
that time, been exercised by the Spanish Goveriiors, and which in- 
cluded the administration of justice between individuals; it was im- 
possible that lie should not feel the necessity of exercising, under cir- 
cumstances thus exasperating and untoward, every authoi-ity com- 
mitted to him by the supreme authority of his country, to preserve 
inviolate, so far as on him depended, the interests of that country, 
and the sa(M'ed obligations of individual right. 

In the proceedings connected with the delivery of the province, he 
had as little reason to be satisfied with the conduct of Col. Callava, 
as with that of the Captain General. On a plea of indisposition, 
that officer had, on the day of the surrender, evaded the performance 
of a solemn promise, which General Jackson had considered an in- 
dispensable preliminary to the act; and afterwards the Colonel posi- 
tively declined its fulfilment. He had, howevei*, completed the sur- 
render of the province with which he had been charged. He had de- 
clined producing to General Jackson any credential as a commis- 
sioner for performing that act; but had informed him that he should 
make the surrender as the commanding officer of the province, by 
virtue of orders from his superior. This service had been consum- 
mated; and Colonel Callava, whom Genei'al Jackson had formerly- 
notified that he had closed with him his official correspondence for- 
ever, was hound, by the special stipulation of the treaty, to have eva- 
cuated, as one of the Spanish officers, the province, before the 22d 
of August. If General Jackson had, in courtesy to Col. Callava, 
considered him, notwithstanding his own disclaimer of the character, 
as a Commissiouerf foi' the delivery of the province, there can be no 
pretence that he was entitled to special privileges under it, after he 
had avowedly performed all its duties; aftei- he had been informed by 
General Jackson that their official conespondence was finally clos- 
ed; and after the date when, by the positive engagements of the treaty 
which he was to execute, he was bound to have de|)arted from the 
province. From the time when his functions for the surrender of the 



35 [ 86 ] 

province were disrharged, lie roiild remain in Pensacola no other- 
wise tlian as a private unprivileged individual, amenable to the duly 
constituted American autiiorities of the place, and subject to the same 
controul of General Jackson, as a private citizen of the United States 
would have been to that of the Governor of the Floridas, befoic the 
sui'render iiad taken place. 

That this was the oj)inion of Col, Callava himself, and of his 
friends vvIjo ap|)lied to Judge Fromentin for the writ of habeas corpuSf 
to res( ue him from the arrest under which he was placed by the or- 
der of General Jackson, is apparent from their conduct on that occa- 
sion. It is stated by Judge Fromentiii, that, before granting ti>e sup'- 
posed writ of habeas corpus, he required that Col. Callava should en- 
ter into a recognizance for* twenty thousand dollais, with two securi- 
ties, each for the amourit of ten thousand dollars; the condition of 
w hich recognizance was, that Col. Callava should personally be and 
appear before the Judge of the United States for \Vest Florida, &c. 
whenever required so to d.o; that he should not depart from the city 
of Pensacoia, without the leave of the said court, nor send away, re- 
move, or otherwise dispose of, unknow n to the said court, any of the 
papers in question. It was only upon the promise of his friends that 
this recognizance should be executed, that Judge FVomentin consented 
to issue the wi it of habeas corpus; and this recognizance renounces in 
fact every pretension of exemption from the Judicial authority of the 
countryj and consequently of the diplomatic privileges of a com» 
missioner. 

It has been seen that the most important documents relating to the 
propel ty of West Florida had been ti-ansmited to the Havanna; 
there remained, however, a portion of them, particularly of judicial 
records, relating to the titles of individual property. Some of these 
Colonel Callava did deliver up with the province; others, of the same 
description and character, indispensable for the administration of jus- 
tice in the province, and useless at the Havanna, whither it was his 
intention to have transported them, were retained; not in his posses- 
sion, but in that of Don Domingo Sousa, a Spanish officer, who, by 
the stipulation of the treaty, ought also to have departed from the pro- 
vince before the 22d of August. 

The day immediately preceding that date, the alcalde of Pensacoia^ 
at the suit of a woman, in a humble walk, indeed, of life, but whose 
rights were, in the eye of General Jackson, equally entitled to his 
protection with those of the highest rank, or the most commanding 
opulence, had rejiresented to him that a number of documents, belong- 
ing to the alcalde's office, and relating to estates at that place, and 
to suits there instituted, were in tiie possession of Domingo Sousa* 
that the necessity for obtaining possession of those documents was 
urgent, and therefore he requested the Governor to authorize some 
one to make a regular denjand ot them, and to ascertain what they 
were. Governor Jackson, accoidingly, forthwith commissioned the 
secretary of the territory, the alcalde of Pensacoia himself, and the 
clerk of the county court of Escambia, to proceed to the dwellir. of 



Sousa, to make (Icinand of all s.ch papers or do.nmenls. bclo„ici..o. 
to the alca de's ollico, as mi.^ht l,c i,. his possession; an.) in ra?e ol 
Sousa's refusal to exhibit o.- <icliver the same, im.nc. iate v (, .'epor 
the fact to h.m, the Goveenor. in writiM.e:. These co,nmis;imV,-s tl e 
next day reported to the (nn e.-noe that they had exami le ,a! 

pers .n the possession of Sonsa: that they had found amon^ then four 
sets of papers of the kind Nvhich helon^^ed to the o(Hceoffhe, 4) e 
a,.d an.on.|;them those, n which theuoma.. from whom the firs an ': 
cation had proceeded was interested: that they had, both verbally ad 
in wr.t.ng, demanded of him the delivery of those documen/swl'd 
«o private nid.vulual had a ri.^ht to keej,. as they related to th ^^ ,t 
of persons holdn,^^ or daiming property in ti'.e province, but Sat 
v^ t n rr 'l 7 M ^•^'•^•^^'•,^''^'"' «'l^'.^i".^ that hi was bu the or- 
der In fl ?'; ^"'r'"' 'rl'""'^ ""* ^^^''^'^•- ^''^'» ^vitliout his or- 
der. In the transactions of Sousa, on this occasion, is manifested tic 
same consciousness that the claim of diplomatic privilege, se up by 
Co Callava, to screen h.m from the operation of the' author) y of 
Go^ernor Jackson, was without foundatir,n. For, althouah 1 e re 
fused to deliver up the papers, conformably to the Gover mn'^ com, 
mand he submitted to the examination of them by theco.nm .sioneis 
in obc^d.ence to the same authority; and, though he declined recei" in^' 
from them the letter demanding the delivery of the nnners ho t di! 
hem that to relieve himself from the responsibilitv o l^^'p;' hem 
lie should deliver them to Governor Callava himself. I'hev were ac^ 
cordingly sent to the house of Col. Callava. and put into the nosses 
«.on of Ins steward Fullerat. It is clear, however, that, i^ ZZ 
pers, while in Sousa's possession, were privileged from deli ei n?,m 
at ho command of Governor Jackson, they ^?ere equally pHv K 
from examination by the same authority; and, if they were o ifw 
fully screened from his process in thecusto.ly of Sousa, they cm. d rio 
be made so by removing them to the house of Colonel Callava The 
truth IS, that the removal of the documents, at that t nie! ud i'n s!.ch 
^manner, was a high and aggravated contempt of thela I aul^.o 
rity of the Governor. It not only claimed for Colonel Ca ava d o" 
inatic inimu,>ities, but Assumed that he was still the Go^crnor nt 
province and that Sousa was amenable for his conduct o 7to . m 
Co . Ca lava might, on the same pretence, have retained the whde 
body of the Spanish oflicers and troops under his command a IV 
cola and in.sisted upon exercising over them all his ext^ gufshed al " 
thority, as Governor and commander in chief, after tl el st o 4" 
gust, as he could to exercise any ofii<ial authority v;iti.i t!,e pLvince 

of G<^';;Si?i::;r -^ ^^^ ^^^"^-^^ ^^^ ^-»^"^ .aw.1^ • ss 

It IS under these circnmstnnces that the subsequent measures of Go 
vernor Jackson are to be considered. He ininu'diately Sut'd an au 
thority to Col. Robert Kutler, and Col. John Miller, to sei^e he Ldv 
o Sousa, together with the papers, and to bring I emTcl.e' '^ 
that Sousa might answer su<h interrogatories as might be nut to m' 
and comply with such order an>l decree, touching tif a S c c m tJ 



37 [ 86 "! 

'xu(\ vQConh, as the rishfs of the indiridualSf secured to them by the 
treatij, might reqnire, and the justice of the case might dcmnnd. By 
virtue of this order, Sousa was brought before Governor Jackson, 
and again recognized the authority under which he was taken, by 
answeiing the interrogatories ])ut to him. But lie had ah-eady put 
the papers and documents out of his imssession; and thus, as far as 
was in his power, baffled the ends of justice, and set at deiiance the 
lawful authority of the Govei-nor. 

In this transaction, Col. Callava was avowedly the principal agent; 
and altogether unjustifiable as it Mas, whatever conseijuences of 
inconvenience to himself resulted from it, must be imputed to him. 
It was an imdisguised effort to prostrate the nuthority cif the United 
States in the province^ nor had Governor Jackson any other alter- 
native to choose, than tamely to sec the sovereign power of his coun- 
try, entrusted to him, trampled uisder foot, and exposed to derision 
by a foreigner, remaining there only upon his sufferance, or b^ the 
vigorous exercise of his authority to vindicate at once tlie rights of 
the United States, and the just claims of individuals to their protec- 
tion. 

Governor Jackson could consider Col. Callava in no other light 
than that of a private individual, entitled indeed, as the officer of a 
foreign power, to courtesy, but not to, exemption from the process 
of the law. Notwithstanding his improper conduct, Governor Jack- 
son, in tiic fit'st instance, authorized Col. Butler and Or. Bronaugh, 
accompanied by Mr. Brackenridge, the Alcalde, to wait upon him 
and his steward, and dcuiand from them the specified papers, which 
Sousa had declared, in his answer to the interrogatories to have 
been delivered to the steward at Governor Callava's house. It was 
only in case of the refusal to give up the papers, that the ojder ex- 
tended to theseizui'eof the person of Col. Callava, that he might be 
made to appear before Governor Jackson, to answer interrogatories, 
and to abide by, and perfoini, such order and decree as the justice of 
the case might demand. This demand was accoidingiy made, and 
although at the first moment peremptorily refused, yet, upon Col. 
Callava's being informed tliat his refusal would be considered as set- 
ting at defiance the authority of the governor of the Floridas, and 
of the consequences to himself which must ensue upon his persisting 
therein, he desired to be furnished witli a memorandum, setting forth 
the documents required, which was accordingly done. But when the 
delivery of the papers was again demanded of him, he repeated the 
refusal to deliver them, and attempted both to avoid the personal 
approach of Colonel Butler and Dr. Bronaugh, and to exhibit a 
resistance by force of arms to the execution of the Governor's order. 
And it is not a little remarkable, that among the persons who ap- 
peared thus arrayed against the authority of the United States, to 
accomplish the denial and removal of the papers, was a man against 
whom the most important of those papers were judicial decisions of 
Governor Callava himself, in behalf of the orphan children, for the 
establishment of whose rights they were indispensably necessary, 
and at whose application they had been required. 



[ 86 ] 38 

Standing; thus, in open defiance to the operation of the law, Colonel 
Callava was taken before the Governor; and there refusing to an- 
swer the iiileirogatories put to him, and assertinj^ tlic groundless 
pretensicui of answering only as a comniissioncr, and by a protest 
ag:>inst the acts of the Governor, lie wa«, by his order, rommitted to 
prison, until the documents should l)e delivered to the Alcalde. On 
the next day, a seaicli warrant for the jjajjers was issued by the Go- 
vernor, upon which they were actually obtained, and directed to be 
delivered to the Alcalde; whereupon, Colonel Callava was inunedi- 
ately released. 

In all these proceedings, you will perceive, sir, that not one act of 
rigor, or even of discourtesy towards Colonel Callava, was anllif)- 
rized by Governor Jackson, which was not indispensably necessitated 
for the maintenance of his authoiity, and the discharge of his ollicial 
duty, by the unjustifiable and obstinate resistance of colonel Calla\a 
himself. 

On a review of the whole transactions, I am instructed by the 'Pre- 
sident of the United States to say, that he considers the documents 
in question, as among those which, by the stipulation of the treaty, 
ought to have been delivered up, with the province, to the authoi ities 
of the United States; that they were, on the 22d of August, w hen in 
the possession of Domingo Sousa, within the jurisdiction of the Unit- 
ed States, and subject to the contr'ol of their Governor, acting in 
his judicial capacity, and liable to be compulsively produced by his 
order; that the removal of them from the possession of Sousa, after 
the Governor's order to him to deliver them had been seived upon 
him, could not withdraw them from the jurisdiction of Governor 
Jackson, and was a high and aggravated outrage upon his lawful au- 
thority; that the imprisonment of Colonel Callava was a necessary, 
though by the President deeply regretted consequence, of his obsti- 
nate perseverance in refusing to deliver the papers, and of his un- 
founded claim of diplomatic immunities, and irregular exeicise even 
of the authorities of a governor of Florida, alter the authority of 
Spain in the province had been publicly and solemnly surrendered to 
the United States. 

That the documents were of the description of those which the 
treaty had stipulated should be delivered up with the province, is ob- 
vious, from the consideration of their character. They related to 
the property of lands in the province. They were judicial records, 
directly affecting the rights of persons remaining in the province; 
rights which could not be secured without them; rights over which 
the appellate tribunal of the governor of Cuba, to which Colonel Cal- 
lava proposed to remove the papers, thenceforth could have no au- 
thority or control, they having become definitively subject to the ju- 
risdiction of the United States. The only reason assigned by Colo- 
nel Callava for the pretension to retain them, is, that they related to 
the estate of a deceased Spanish officer, and had thereby been of the 
resort of the military tribunal. But it was for the rights of the liv- 
ing, and not for the privileges of the dead, that the documents were 



39 [ S6 ] 

to operate. Tlie tribunal of the captain general of Cuba could nei- 
tlier need the ))ioduction of the papers, nor exercise any authority 
over the subject-matter to which tliey related. To have transferred 
to the island of Cuba a question of litij^ated property, concerning 
land in Floiida, between persons, all of whom were living, and to 
remain in Florida, would liave been worse than a mockery of justice. 
Indeed, Mr. Salmon, in his note, appears to have been aware of the 
weakness of this allegation, declines the discussion of the question; 
and in justification of the refusal of Colonel Callava to deliver uj) the 
documents, merely rests its defence upon the plea, that the papers 
had not been demanded of Iiim offidnlly. It has been seen, that Co- 
lonel Callava had no official charactei* which could then exempt hiin 
frcuii the compulsive process of the governor. But Mr. Salmon al- 
leges that the Spanish constitution, as well as that of the United 
States, separates the judicial from the executive power exercised by 
the governor or captain general of a province. 

Neither the constitution, nor the laws of the United States, ex- 
cepting tliose relating to the revenue and its collection, and to the 
slave trade, had at that time been extemled to Floi-ida. And as lit- 
tle had the Sj)anish constitution been inti-oduced there, in point of 
fact, howevei* it might iiave been proclaimed. But, be this as li 
may, the cause, in relation to which the documents required in the 
case of Vidal had been drawn up, and weie needed, was one of those 
Nvhich. under the Spanish constitution itself, remained within the 
juiisdiction of the governor. This is declared by Colonel Callava 
himself, in the third observation of the appendix to his protest, trans- 
mitted with the letter of Mr. Salmon. It is the reason assigned by 
bim for having withheld those documents from the Alcalde. And 
one of them w as a judgment rendered by Colonel Callava himself, 
after the time wlien the proclamation of the Spanish constitution in 
the province is alleged to have been made. The cause, therefore, 
was, on every hypothesis, within the jurisdiction of the governor; the 
papers were indispensable for the administration of justice in the 
cause; and when once applied for, by a person entitled to the benefit 
of them, it was the duty, the inexorable duty, of Governor Jackson 
to put forth all the authority vested in him, necessary to obtain them. 

Nor less imperative was his obligation to punish, without respect of 
persons, that contempt of his jurisdiction, which was manifested in 
the double attempt of Colonel Callava to defy his power, and to 
evade the operation of its process. 

With I'egaid to tiie proclamation of General Jackson, of the 29th 
of September, commanding several Spanish ollicers, who, in viola- 
tion of the stipulation in the treaty, had remained at Pensacola, after 
thr expiration of tiie six months from the day of the ratification of 
the treaty, to withdraw, within four days, from the Floridas, whicli 
forms the subject of complaint in your letter of the i 8th of Novem- 
ber, it might be sullicienf^ to say, that it did no more than enjoin up- 
on those oliicers to do that which they ought before, and without any 
injunction, to have done. The engagement of the treaty was, that 



[86] 



40 



they should all have evacuated the province before the 22d of Au- 
gust. 

If they remained there after that time, it could only be as i)rivatt 
individuals, amenable in every particular to the laws. Even this 
was merely an indulgence, which it was within the competency ol 
General Jackson at any time to have withdrawn. From the extract 
of a letter from him, of which I have the honor of enclosin;^- a copy, 
it will be seen, that he was far from being disposed to witinlraw it, 
had they not, by their abuse of it, and by open outrages upon his 
authority, forfeited all claims to its continuance. 

This extract furnishes a satisfactory an^swer to your question, why, 
if the fulfilment of the article was the object of tiie proclamatiofi, 
it was confined to the eight officers, by name, and not extended to all 
other Spanish officers in the Floiidas. It was because the deport- 
ment of the others was as became them, decent, respectful, and 
friendly towards the government, under the protection of which they 
were permitted to abide. In the newspaper publicatioii, which 
gave rise to the proclamation of General Jackson, the Spanish offi- 
cers avowedly acted, not as private individuals, but as a distinct 
body of men, speaking of Colonel Callava as their chief , their sapc- 
rior; and arrogating to themselves, as a sort of merit, the condescen- 
sion of knowing what was due to a government (meaning the Ameri- 
can government) which was on the most friendly footing with theii 
own. This is language which would scarcely be pif)per for tlie am- 
bassador of one nation, upon the territory of another, to which he 
would owe not even a temporary allegiance. From persons situated 
as those Spanish officers were, it was language of insubordination 
and contempt. 

In alluding to the fact, that officers of the American squadron, in 
the Mediterranean, are sometimes received with friendly treatment 
on the territories of Spain, to make a case parallel w ith the present, 
it would be necessary to show, that some suj)erior officer of the said 
squadron should, while enjoying the hospitality of the Spanish na- 
tion upon their shores, first attempt to evade and to resist, tlie ope- 
ration of process from the constituted judicial tribunals of the coun- 
try, and then pretend, as an American officer, to be wholly independ- 
ent of them; and that some of his subalterns should not only counte- 
nance and support him in these attempts, but should affect to consider 
him, while on Spanish ground, as their only superior and chief, and 
by unfounded and inflammatory publications in the daily journals, to 
rouse the pebple of Spain to revolt and insurrection against the judi- 
cial tribunal of their own country. 

If the bare statement of such a case would be sufficient to raise 
the indignation of every honorable Spaniard, let it be observed, 
-that even this would be without some of the aggravations of the 
conduct of these Spanish officers at Pensacola. For such outrage 
would be far less dangerous, committed against old established autho- 
rities, which might rely upon the.support of tlie whole people sur- 
rounding them, than in the presence of a peo])le, whose nllegiance 



41 [ 86 ] 

had been but just transferred to a new government, and wiien the 
revolt to whirh they wore stiiiuihitcd, would seem little more tlmn 
obedience to the authorities to which they had always been accustom- 
ed to submit. 

The very power which the Spruiish governor and officers had ex- 
ercised betbre the surrender of the province, ought to have been a 
most urgent warning to them to avoid every semblance of authority 
in themselves, or of resistance to that of the United States, after the 
transfer of the province had been completed. 

In forbearing particularly to reply to that part of your note, in 
which you think youi'sclf authorized to pronounce the chai-ge of Ge- 
neral Jackson against these Spanish officers, of having attempted to 
excite discontent in the inhabitants, false, I shall barely express the 
hope, that the term was admitted into your communication inadver- 
tently. The conduct of the officers, at the time of Colonel Callava's 
conflict with the authoiity of the governor, as well as in their insulting 
newspaper i)ubiication, was of a character and tendency too strongly 
marked, to leave a dcmbt of the truth with which it is described in Ge- 
neral Jackson's proclamation, and in passing unnoticed this and other 
mere invectives against an officer, whose services to this nation have 
entitled him to their highest regard, and whose v^ hole career has been 
signalized by the purest intentions and the most elevated purposes, I 
wish to be understood as abstaining from observations, whicli, how- 
ever justified by the occasion, could but add to the unpleasantness of 
a discussion already sufficiently painful. 

That this conduct on the part of the Spanish officers was highly re- 
prehensible, cannot reasonably be denied, and had General Jacks<m 
been disposed to animadvert ujjon it with severity, his course would 
undoubtedly have been that which you have pointed out as appropri- 
ate to the offence. They would have been cited before the proper 
tribunal, heaid upon specific charges, allowed time and liberty to 
make their defence, and punished by commitment to prison. General 
Jackson preferred a milder and moie indulgent measure; and with- 
out prosecuting them as criminals, only withdrew from them the pri- 
vilege of a protracted infraction of the tieaty, by requiring them 
forthwith to depart from the province. To justify him in this re- 
quisition, neither arrest nor judicial trial was necessary or proper. 
The facts were of public notoriety, and could not be denied. The 
proclamation only required of them the execution of the treaty, by the 
removal of their persons. Had their conduct even been unexception- 
able, this measure would have been witliin the undoubted authority of 
General Jackson. As their deportment had been, it was the most 
lenient exercise of his power practicable, to vindicate the insulted 
honor and justice of his country. 

I pass to the con^deration of the complaints contained in your let- 
ter of the 22d of November. In order to take a correct view of this 
subject, it is again necessary to advert to the royal oj'der of his Ca- 
tholic Majesty to the Captain General and Governor of the Island of 
Cuba,and of the Floridas, commanding hin^ to cause to be placed at the 
(\ 



L 86 ] 42 

disposal of the commissaries or officers of the United States, dufy 
authorized to receive them, the archives and documents relating 
directly to the jjroperty and sovereignty of the two provinces. 

On tlie 16th of May, the Captain General and Governor wrote to 
Colonel Forhes, that, ** respec'tinj^ East Florida, where there ouja^ht 
to he found all her archives, he. Governor Mahy, would direct Go- 
vernor Coppingerto make a formal delivery of that province, as well 
as of the documents beloitging to it." 

On the 24th of May, Colonel Forbes wrote to the Captain Gene- 
pal, reminding him of the repeated ])romises made by his excellency, 
to dispatch him with the archives, which were to be delivered, and 
then were at the Havanna, and with the orders for the delivery of 
the provinces and of the archives deliverable there; of the continual 
disappointments to which he had been subjected by the failure of per- 
foimance to those promises, and of the necessities which urged his 
immediate departure. He therefore proposed, *♦ that if any further 
researches should be necessai-y for the discovery of the said archives, 
they might be delivered when more convenient to the Spanish go- 
vernment; that he, (Colonel Forbes) siiould be allowed to proceed 
immediately to West Florida, with the commissary appointed to car- 
ry the final order to the sub-governor there; and, lastly, that a du- 
plicate order be given at once, as agreed upon, to the Governor of 
East Florida, for the delivery of that province to the constituted au- 
thorities of the United States, together "with the archives ivhich were 
declared to l)e on the spot. 

On the 29th of May, the Captain General answered this letter, 
and enclosed to him the orders to the several Governors of East 
and West Florida, for the delivery of the provinces, antedated as I 
have already mentioned, with a declai'atioti, that the aichives then 
at the Iluvanna, and which ought to have been delivered to Colonel 
Forbes, should be transmitted to the government of the United States, 
as soon as they were selected; a promise, as I have before observed, 
yet unfulfilled. 

These orders of the ca])tain-general to the commanders of East 
and West Florida, are further remarkable by the omission of any 
direction in them for the delivery of the archives and documents, li 
had been expressly agreed by him, with colonel Forbes, that the or- 
der for the delivery of East Florida should include that of the ar- 
chives. But it was not sufficient for governor Mahy to avoid the 
peiformance of this jjiomise. 

By the letter from colonel Butler to general Jackson, of the 21st 
January last, a copy of which I have the honor to enclose, it ap- 
pears that, \Vith regard to the gi-eatest ami most important part of 
those documents, he had expressly instructed colonel Coppinger not 
to deliver them. And hence, when on the 18th of June colonel But- 
ler, the ollicer of the United States authorized to receive the pro- 
vince, notified colonel Coppinger that he liad designated major 
Cross to receive the archives relating to the sovereignty and indi- 
vidual property of the province, he was answered by colonel Coj[ir 



43 [ 86 ] 

pinger, "As respects the delivery of the public archives, containing 
the records of individual property of this province, that will be de- 
layed^ until various doubts that occur are cleared up'; but they will 
not be removed until then, nor will I leave this place until all mat- 
ters are regulated and concluded between us, that demand my per- 
sonal assistance." 

Thus, upon the pretence of doubts, the nature of which was not 
explained, colonel Coppinger declined, positively, to deliver up do- 
cuments conformably to the express stipulation of the treaty. Col. 
Butler immediately proposed to him a conference on the subject, 
wliich was held on the 21st of June. At that conference colonel 
Coppinger told colonel Butler, that " as an individual, he believed 
these archives should be given over to the United States, but, that 
his orders prevented him from turning them over.^' Colonel Butler 
therefore assented, as, indeetl, no other alternative seemed to be left 
him, that colonel Coppinger should have time to write to the captain- 
general of Cuba, for the decision of his doubts; and mentioned to 
him the opportunity of a vessel then about to sail for the Havana, 
when she was to return to St. Augustine, and might bring the answer 
of the captain-general. Colonel Coppinger, on the 23d of June, in- 
formed colonel Butler that he had that day written to the captain- 
general for the solution of his (lixihls; and, until he received his an- 
swer, the archives should not be resiioved from St. Augustine, and 
should remain precisely as they were. Colonel Butler, by his letter 
of 26th June, agreed to remain silent on tlhe head of the archivCvS, 
until the answer should be received from the captain general; but, 
within one week from that time, colonel Butler received information, 
that a large portion of these documents were packed for transpor- 
tation. He wrote, therefore, on the Sd of July, to colonel Coppin- 
ger, enumerating specifically several kinds of records, relating di- 
rectly to the property of the province, and declaring that he consi- 
dered them among those which were not to be removed; the repl}^ 
to which, by colonel Coppinger, is especially to be remarked, as ex- 
pressing his opinion, that several of those documents were excluded 
from deliv(j;ry. There can be no reasonable doubt, that all the papers, 
specified by colonel Butler's letter, were of those which the treaty 
had stipulated should be delivered up. When, therefore, general 
Jackson considered, and compared together, the express and jinsitive 
order of the king of Spain, to the captain-general, and governor of 
Cuba, that he should faithfully see to the delivery of the documents; 
the pretences on which he evaded the delivery, to colonel Forbes, of 
those which were at the Havana, within his own conti-ol; the promise 
that he would direct the delivery, by colonel Coppinger, of those 
that were at St. Augustine; the peremptory postponement of colonel 
Coppinger to deliver up any documents or records relating to indi- 
vidual pro])erty; his engagement that none of them should be re- 
moved, until he should receive further instructions from the captain- 
general, and, within one week after, his attempt to pack up, for 
transportation to Cuba, a large portioi of them; and, finally, hik 



[ 86 ] 44 

prctotisioiis that many ])apc»'s, manilestiy liavina; dii-cct relation to 
tlie piopeity of tlie province, were excluded (Voni delivery, and liis 
recunetice t(» tlie Literal sense of his orders from the captain-gener- 
al, with the verbal avowal to colonel Cutler, of his own o|)inioii 
tliat the documents oii2;ht to be delivered, thoui;"h he was forbidden 
by his instructions to deliver them; it was impossible for general 
Jackson to close his eyes against proceedings so unjustifiable and 
impr"-per. lie, therefore, gave instructions to the ollicer command- 
ing at St. Augustine to take possession of the papers which the trea- 
ty had sti|)ulated should be delivered. 

The necessity for taking jvossession of them had indeed arisen be- 
fore the instructions of Gen. Jackson were received. Most of tlie re- 
cords relating to individual pioperty had been left in possession of Don 
Juan de Entralgo; who, on the pretence that he had purchased at pub- 
lic sales, undei- the Spanish government, not only those documents, but 
the ollice of register of them, openly advanced the claim of retaining 
the records as his ])rivate pi'0]»erty, and of contimiing the exercise of 
the oHice, and receiving fees for granting cojjies of the same. 

These |)retensions were raised on the nth of Sej)tember, nearly three 
months after the doubts of Col. Coppinger had, with the consent of 
Colonel Butlei-, been referred to the cajitain general and governor of 
Cuba. Long beft)i'e that time the answer of tiiat ollicer ought to have 
been received, peremptorily commanding the delivery of the papers. 

It was impossible that the United Stales should acquiesce in the 
claims of Mr. Entralgo. They were un((uestionably entitled to the 
documents: and whatevor injury he might sustain, by the delivery of 
them, it uiight give him a fair demand of indemnity from his own 
government, but certainly not from the Uiiited States. 

Yet the secretary and acting governor, Mr. Worlhington, allowed 
a further delay of neaily a month, before taking the decisive mea- 
sures necessary to obtain the documents. He then, on the 3d of Octo- 
bei', authorized three persons of respectable chaj-acter to obtain them, 
with the use of force if necessary; but with all suitable delicacy and 
respect towai-ds the persons who had been the ollicers of Spain in the 
province. 1 have the honor of enclosing, herewith, copies of the or- 
ders from the secretary Worthiiigton, to the commissioners appointed 
bv him to receive, and afterwards to examine and assoit the papers, 
and of their reports to him, exhibiting the manner in which both those 
services were performed. They will prove, that every regard was 
shewn towai'ds Colonel Coppinger, and Mr. Entralgo, compatible 
w ith the execution of the duty; and after the assortment of the papeii^), 
all those which were not of the desci'iption stipulated to be delivereil 
over by the treaty, have ever been, and yet aic, ready to be re- 
turned to Colonel Coppinger, or to any person duly authorized to 
receive them. 

Such is the view- w hich I am instructed to say has definitively been 
taken by the Piesident of the UiiiUd States, in lelation to the tran- 
sactions' which formed the subjects of your letters of the 18th and 22d 
of November last, and of that of Mr. Salmon of the 6th of October. 



45 [ 86 ] 

He is satisfied that by the proceedings of the governor of Florida to- 
wards Colonel Callava, on the 23d of August last, and towards cer- 
tain individuals, presuming to act as a body of Spanish officers in 
Florida, in contempt of the authority of the United States, on the 
29th of September, and by those of the secretary of East Florida, 
acting as governor, on the 2d and 3d of October, towards Colonel 
Coppinger, and Don Juan de Entralgo, no intention of injury or in- 
sult to His Catholic Majesty, or his government, was entertained, 
and that no just cause of complaint by them was given. That those 
measures were all rendere<l necessary, by the total disregard of the 
captain general and governor of Cuba and the Floridas, and of his 
subordinate officers, in the Floridas, not only of the solemn stipula- 
tion in the treaty, for the delivery of the archives and documents di- 
rectly relating to the property of those provinces, but of the royal 
order of their sovereign, commanding the said captain general to see 
to the faithful execution of that engagement; an engagement, in the. 
fulfilment of which the rights not only of the United States, but of 
every individual inhabitant of the provinces and proprietor in them, 
were deeply and vitally interested. 

The mere enumeration of the documents, as specified in the de- 
mands of them made by the officers of the United States, before re- 
sort was had to any measure of rigor for extorting them, proves, 
that they were indispensable for the establishment of public right, or 
for the security of private property. To Spain, not one of those do- 
cuments could, after the tiansfer of th*^ provinces, be of the slightest 
interest or utility. To the United States they were all important. 
li the Governor and Secretary had so little understood tiieir duty to 
the public rights of their country, committed to their charge, as to 
have suffered the removal of records, essential to guaid the interests 
of the nation against the insatiate greediness and fraudulent devices 
of land speculators, they had yet a sacred duty to perform to the 
people of the country, by retaining the common vouchers of their es- 
tates. What individual would have been secure in the tenure of his 
land, in the evidences of his debts, or in the very shelter over his 
head, if colonel Callava could have carried to Cuba his own judg- 
ments in favor of the Vidals, because their father, when alive, had 
been an auditor of war; and if Don Juan de Entralgo could have 
transported to the same island all the title deeds of East Florida, 
because he had bought his office of recorder at public auction? 

The delays of the captain general of Cuba, witli regard to the ful- 
filment of the royal order, transmitted to him by colonel Forbes, 
were so extraordinary, and upon any just principle so unaccountable, 
tliat the minister of the United States in Spain, was, by letters from 
this department of 13th and 16th June last, instructed, upon his re- 
turn to Madrid, to represent tlie same to your government, and to 
request new and peremjjtory orders to that officei-, for the delivery 
of the archives in his possession, conformably to the stipulation of the 
treaty. The renewal of the order was declined, upon the ground of 
entire confidence on the part of your government, that the captain 



[ 86] 46 

general would, before it could be received, have completed the de^ 
very of the archives and documents, as he had been commanded b 
the king. 

I regret to be obliged to state, that this just expectation of his Cs 
tholic majesty has not yet been fulfilled. 

Captain James Biddle, commander of the United States' frigal 
Macedonian, has therefore been commissioned to repair to the Hj 
vana, there to receive the documents and archives, which colons 
Forbes was obliged to leave; and whicb, it is hoped, the captain g( 
neral and governor of Cuba will cause to be delivered without fm 
ther delay. 

I pray you, sir, to receive the assurance of my distinguished coi 
sideration. 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
Don JoAc^uiN d'Anduaga, 

Envoy Extraordinary f ^c. ^*ft 



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